Oxfam is responding to a large wave of
fresh displacement in the conflict-ridden Darfur region of Sudan. More
than 15,000 people have fled their villages over the past few weeks and
are streaming into Gereida camp, about 65km south of Nyala (state capital
of South Darfur).
Each day, around 150 families have been
arriving in the camp, some after having walked for several days through
unsafe areas to get to there.
Families clutch the few belongings they have been able to salvage - pots and pans, beds, bicycles, maybe a few goats or sheep. Those who have brought nothing are trying to string together pieces of cloth or plastic to build shelters.
Oxfam is one of the few agencies with a permanent presence in Gereida camp. We have been assisting new arrivals by providing clean drinking water and sanitation facilities, and we are also working with others to distribute basic household items like blankets, soaps, jerricans and plastic sheeting.
"We feel safer now that we are here in the camp," 34-year-old Halima Mohammed says. "But there is still fighting going on outside, and many people are still missing family members. We need security".