Facts on Sudan
-Population: 31 million
-Life expectancy: 56 years
-Average annual income: $330
-9 million people live on less than $1 a day
-1 in 9 children die before their 5th birthday
-43% of adults are illiterate
-$2 is enough to feed a family of six for one day
-$38 provides a family with a water container, plastic sheeting, cooking utensils and 2 blankets
-$380 provides 15 families with sanitation facilities
-$6,450 provides safe drinking water for 2,400 people
Life in the Camps of Darfur
"As my plane landed on West Darfur's dusty, unpaved airport runway, I immediately knew that this trip, my third field visit with Islamic Relief, would be my most memorable." Read the rest of article on the situation in Darfur, which the UN has called "the world's worst humanitarian crisis."
Hunger and Conflict
Sudan, Africa's largest country, has been at war for over three decades. Civil war ravaged the country, killing over 2 million people, and injuring thousands more. Four million Sudanese have fled their homes. A peace treaty in 2005 put an end to the latest conflict.
As severe food shortages occur across southern Africa, millions of Sudanese people are at risk of starvation. Recurrent droughts over several years have caused poor harvests and drinking water shortages in many areas. The combination of famine and violence has created a tragic cycle of suffering. For many Sudanese the essentials of life such as sufficient food, clean water, and health and education services are simply not available.
Islamic Relief in Sudan
Islamic Relief's connection to Sudan dates from the devastating famine that gripped the country in the 1980's - Islamic Relief was founded as a response to that desperate situation. Islamic Relief began working in Sudan in 1984 in response to devastating floods in Khartoum, and registered its field office in 1991.
Islamic Relief has expanded its operations to southern Sudan, the Blue Nile and the Nuba mountains. The emphasis of the program is post-war recovery, integrated rehabilitation and community development. Islamic Relief is also responding to the crisis in Darfur.
Darfur: An Unremitting Crisis
Two million people have been driven from their villages because of fighting that began two years ago in Sudan's troubled Darfur region. Most of those who fled their villages are farmers; instead of working the land they have been forced to languish in the squalid refugee camps of Darfur. Local agricultural production has been ruined by the conflict – the planting season was missed once again this year.
Islamic Relief Action
Islamic Relief's emergency team began work in Darfur in April 2004, providing displaced people with food and shelter. The Islamic Relief team is managing the Kerinding II camp for displaced families, many of whom had been living in local schools.
The camp now accommodates over 6,000 people who regularly receive food, plastic sheeting, soap, jerrycans and local building materials to build traditional homes. Islamic Relief has also registered 100 orphans in Kerinding II who will receive additional support.
Islamic Relief staff built and run a clinic in Kerinding II that services the camp as well as the local population. Workshops on AIDS/HIV awareness are carried out regularly, as well as counseling for victims of rape. Islamic Relief also supplies Al-Geneina Hospital and Kulbus Hospital with medicines periodically.
Islamic Relief also assists in the areas of education, clean water, training women to make stoves, and providing aid to the locals in the areas where the refugee camps are situated.
Click here to read an article on Former Child Soldiers in South Sudan
