Thank you and god help you, says a grateful sheikh

At Aro Sharrow Camp in western Darfur, Concern has a sub-office that provides shelter and special food which is being followed…

At Aro Sharrow Camp in western Darfur, Concern has a sub-office that provides shelter and special food which is being followed up by further food programmes and a hygiene education and sanitation programme.

The total camp population is about 6,000 and Concern is helping a substantial number of those families. Dominic MacSorley, Concern's emergency co-ordinator in western Darfur, says that just a few days ago Concern registered over 250 malnourished children in this camp.

"Poor water and sanitation and a lack of access to food - the last World Food Programme distribution was 45 days ago - have contributed to the problems," he explains. For these children, Concern is providing corn soya blend, sugar and oil.

When the Concern workers arrived at the camp, the sheikhs reported that the community was in mourning after an attack by 110 Janjaweed on horseback. They had killed five people, left seven seriously injured and had fled with about 50 cows.

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"Our village and homes were burnt and destroyed," said Sheikh Abdulla Iman Omar. "We had nothing, but now Concern has provided us with shelter from the rain and other useful items. Thank you and God help you."

A woman living in this camp, Halima Yayah Omar, has six children. Her husband was killed by the Janjaweed. She arrived at the camp with few possessions, apart from a donkey. Everything else had been stolen by the Janjaweed.

Concern has ensured that Halima and her children have shelter. The next priorities will be food and water.

Another woman in the camp, Isha Mohammed Mahmoud, fled a violent Janjaweed attack in which her husband was killed. She and her five children arrived in the camp with only the clothes on their backs. Their house and store of food had been burned and their livestock stolen.

What they need most now is food and water, she says.

This year the people in the whole Darfur region have missed the traditional planting season. So, over the next few months, they will be heavily dependent on support from Concern and other organisations.

Water is an urgent priority, since this particular camp, Aro Sharrow, has just has one hand pump and access to nearby wadis to provide for over 8,000 people. The water being used for drinking and washing is brown and turbid.