The tragedy of Darfur has caused over 200,000 people to flee across the border to neighbouring Chad. Fears are that this figure could double before the end of the year.
People stream over the border with neither food, water nor shelter. Norwegian Church Aid's emergency relief operation in Chad is one of the most challenging the organisation has ever faced.
"The camps, as they stand today, at least guarantee the refugees' survival. But should a new wave of people come, our capacity will be pushed to the limit and the situation may well become extremely critical," says Vincent Dupin.
For the past year, Dupin has led Norwegian Church Aid's work in the hostile border regions between Sudan and Chad. The UN estimates that as many as 200,000 new refugees will flee across the border during 2005 as the situation in Darfur continues to force people to leave their homes.
Over 55,000 people have so far sought refuge in Norwegian Church Aid's camps in Iridimi, Toulome and Mile. The camps have been supplied with tents, clean water and latrines.
As soon as Norwegian Church Aid became aware of the inhuman conditions under which the refugees in Chad were living, the organisation immediately sent experts to the region to assess needs. Since February 2004, over 30 wells have been bored and over 2000 latrines built - and many of the camps were designed and built by NCA personnel.
"There are almost no roads in the region, and it is almost impossible to travel around at all during the rainy season. It has therefore been a great challenge to transport tents, water tanks, pumps, pipes and other equipment into the region - in addition to the challenges of climate," says Dupin.
Norwegian Church Aid has a total of 14 international staff members operating in Chad. Work is focused around building camps, securing water supply and carrying out psychosocial services. Norwegian Church Aid also hopes to build and supply an entirely new camp in readiness for new arrivals. Work is being carried out in cooperation with UNHCR and others.