"Six months ago, I was forced to leave my home in the middle of the night when armed men from the Janjaweed came on horses and burned down our huts. I ran away with 200 other people in my village but 20 people were killed during the raid. My uncle was one of them. Lots of women and children were beaten.

"The refugee camp I live in now was the nearest safe place for us to come. We walked for 20 days to get here. I didn't bring anything with me. Even the clothes I am wearing are not mine. The Janjaweed took everything from us. All the animals were taken. Even the eggs from the chicken's nests.

"Life in the refugee camp is very different to my old life. The children here have no education, fresh water, beds, money or food here. We have lost everything.

"I am lucky. Because I know how to read and write well, I was invited to be on the Children's Committee here with seven other children. Save the Children helped us build a Children's Centre out of straw and wood and I was chosen to run the Centre. As Centre Manager, I look after the children playing sport and drawing.

"It is good because all the children have somewhere to play and learn now. They are playing football, singing and doing handcrafts. One of the best activities is using mud (clay) to make models of camels and mobile phones. I like being the Manager but because there are lots of activities and children it is difficult to control all of them!

"I have eight brothers and sisters. As I am one of the oldest, I have lots of responsibility to look after the family. I am very busy. In the morning I cook, collect water, look after my brothers and sisters and go to the market to buy food for my family. In the afternoon I go to school and in the evenings I run the Children's Centre.

"We only eat once a day. Everyone eats porridge in the morning and there is nothing else to eat all day. I am hungry if I haven't eaten since the morning.

"I have hopes for the children that come to the centre. There are only three schools in the camp for 10,000 children. The first thing we need is education for all these children, and we need more materials like books and pencils.

"I would like more activities to be included at the centre. At home I used to make clothes to sell. I would like to get sewing machines here so we can make clothes to sell and buy food.

"I think in the future I would like to be a teacher and help more children to learn."