Khadiga Adam Omer, 45 year old female from East Jabal Marra, Karkor village. Khadiga has 6 children, 2 girls and four boys whom she looks after with her husband. Before her displacement, Khadiga used to tend to the fields working as a farmer and looking after the family livestock, which provided their main daily income.

Khadiga describes her day to day life. “I wake up every day praying that today will be a good day, my children will be safe, my husband will make more money, and my goats will produce more milk.”

Like Khadiga, thousands of women in ZamZam IDP camp in North Darfur suffer from the same problems ranging from the lack of access to safe sheltering materi-als and household items to enable IDPs to prepare food and provide a safe sleep-ing space for their children. ZamZam IDP camp is currently host to 153,147 residents (IOM DTM; PFWG North Darfur). Since the beginning of 2015, 6,739 new residents have been tracked by IOM’s tracking hubs as new arrivals into ZamZam. IOM received reports of gaps in health as a result of only two function-ing clinics within the camp serving 153,147 residents, as well as identified gaps being reported in sectors such as provision of shelter, water sanitation and hygiene

As we move through the camp, the effects of continued displacement can be seen in the eyes of the women, a sense of stagnancy and lack of hope and dreams is felt as they become accustomed to camp life and unfazed by the daily visits from many organizations. Many of these families are headed by females, whom like many of ZamZam’s current residents are carrying a great deal of responsibility and pressure on their shoulders, simply trying to get through their day to day tasks and find better futures for their children. Constant outbreaks of conflict continue to force communities to move several times resulting in protracted displacement and secondary displacements. Under this scenario families continue to remain displaced for prolonged periods and access to privacy and adequate protection from the harsh climate becomes crucial to their survival.

Khaidga describes her hard 55 kilometers journey to ZamZam IDP Camp, “Our village was attacked by armed men, and they were burning the houses, taking what they can, even grabbing the children. It was horrible! Immediately, I reached for my children and headed to the safe zone we had built underground in our village”. In this hideout and similar set ups in other villages, women, children and the elderly are forced seek refuge, waiting for the cries and scream to stop as they hear the destruction of their homes, looting of their villages, gunshots to end and worse.

As sun set in Karkok, the roar of fighting had begun to settle and the silence of nightfall upon the village. Nevertheless, Khadiga and the others did not leave the shelter, the group are instructed beforehand that those who make it to the shelters and hide-outs safely, do not leave until they are called upon by the men of their village. When the voices of men were heard calling for their loved ones, they begun to peer from the hole in the ground. Thankfully, Khadiga found her husband and her son among the survivors of the attack, they were unharmed. That was the most important thing for her.

“Moving around this much is exhausting. There is never safety, clean water is hard to find, it is too

difficult to give my kids a safe home.”

Karkor Villiage to ZamZam IDP Camp The start of a long journey

Khadiga continues, “We then went back to our house, what was left of it anyway. It had been destroyed. We gathered what we could find, some clothes which had not been burnt, some cups, a pot which wasn’t taken, anything that was left. Luckily, some of our goats had escaped, and to our surprise and blessing’s from Allah, four were discovered by my husband in the nearby bushes.” After gathering the few belongings left after the attack, Khadiga and her family set off on the long walk to ZamZam IDP camp, they walked 55 kilometers under the harsh heat of the Sudanese sun.

Although Khadiga would prefer to stay in her village, she feared future threats and knew that the camp offers protection and support through the many organizations working in the area. In addition, some of her relatives were already living in the camp and welcomed the newly arrived family with open arms. The solidarity and shared experience of displacement made accommodation upon arrival easy and belongings were shared with relatives and friends. Nonetheless the feeling of extreme vulnerability and risk would take more time to vanish. “Without a roof over our heads, you can never really feel safe, it was difficult at first as the pots we had were not enough to cook for the whole family, and the children slept on the ground as we did not manage to salvage all the materials from our home.”

Many of the IDP families who have arrived in ZamZam camp all suffer from a lack of adequate shelter and household items which are shared between the new arrivals and camp residents. Scattered all over the camp, one can see people sitting under the few trees around the camp, children sleeping under makeshift frail structures supported by branches, without any blankets or mattresses. Households are often forced to await assistance in open spaces and unsanitary conditions, making them prone to numerous diseases and illnesses, especially newborns and infants who are often reported to suffer from heat exposure.

Families do not have the adequate income to sustain themselves and procure items which can help improve their way of life. In order to assist these families, IOMs Non-Food Items packages contains items such as material to

“It is very difficult getting used to

camp life at first, but I am still very grateful. I know that my family is safer here than if

we were still moving around.

We are part of the fortunate”

In addition to the standard ES/NFI kits, IOM has also been proving improved emergency shelter assistance to protracted IDPs. The improved emergency shelter structure is fully supported by bamboo frames and is locally produced from grass mats. This structure has proved handy to camp based and rural communities during the winter and rainy seasons, offering enhanced protection in comparison to the plastic sheet.

The ES/NFI kits provided by IOM through generous funding from the Italian Development Cooperation and in close partnership with UNHCR and Plan Sudan, gave Khadiga and her family security and an enclosed space, which Khadiga uses to store the little belongings she and her family salvaged from the attack on her village, as well as a private space for Khadiga and her children to enjoy necessary household privacy. Relieved she says, “My husband feels he can protect us now with all these organi-zations around. The NFI kits, especially the kitchen sets containing pans, pots and plates for the family has meant that I can now cook cleaner food for my kids and there is less chance of them getting sick.”

Remembering the family’s losses and the painful journey she sadly asks herself, “Why did this happen to me? Am I a good mother? Sadly, I have come to realize that this is the circumstances of the country I am currently living in, and many people are suffering like me, if not worse. I am eternally grateful that I am one of the thousands who has received help and support along the way. Without it, my family and I would still be burdening our relatives in their very limited space.”

Thanks to our donor: And our partners:

For more information please conftact Lorena DOS SANTOS Project Coordinator ldossantos@iom.int Amani OSMAN Communications Officer aosman2@iom.int