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An inside look at life in Darfur's largest camp

5 August 2005
Neil Munro, Events Manager of CARE International’s Challenge team, visited Kalma camp in Sudan, the biggest refugee camp in Darfur, at the end of July. While he was there, he saw how CARE International is running its Water and Sanitation (Watsan) project.

Life in the camp
© CARE
What is Kalma camp like?

It’s enormous, that is the major thing that hit me. It is a big camp, as big as a town, with thousands of people, in a wide open sandy area. I went up to a raised bit and saw it from above and it just went on for miles.
I went in with the understanding that it is a refugee camp for internally displaced people (IDP) and it is a difficult place to live, but what the NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) have set up there is amazing. It is a fully functioning camp – but really is more like a town, and it’s amazing to see how well structured it is. There is a large hospital, and the camp is divided into small communities of people living alongside each other. There is also a market place where people sell things at the entrance to the camp just as you drive in, things like cigarettes and watches – the same as in a normal African village.
Also, everyone is well fed, and CARE has built latrines and is pumping water in, so again it’s a well organised place. It’s just not very permanent: there is no brickwork or concrete, as you would get in an African village; it’s all made of sticks and thatch, and most people have been given covers and tarpaulin to keep the water out.

How many people is CARE International responsible for in the camp?

The camp is split into sections, which are looked after by different charities, such as CARE, Oxfam and the Red Cross. CARE is responsible for 65,000 people.

And did you get an idea what is it like living in the camp?

Well, it’s difficult for people there. They have had a tough time getting there and security is a problem. Storage sites are unprotected and when women leave the camp to get firewood, they can be fearful for their safety as well. Things are working well, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a tough place to live.

So what exactly is CARE’s Watsan project?

We have built 2,750 latrines, which are thatched circular structures around a hole in the ground. But one of the major things is that we are doing is pumping water into the camp. There was a well outside the camp and aid agencies were tanking water in with lorries. But that was expensive so what they are doing now is piping it in. CARE has set up a piping system underground and into the camp, which means it is much easier for people to get clean water in the camp, and it is much less expensive to get it there.

Is CARE involved in anything else?

Yes, we are also giving out soap, bed nets and plastic sheeting, as well as jerry cans so each family can collect water. Also, there is an area on the outskirts of the camp which people are using to kill their animals before eating them, but it’s highly unsanitary because it’s just out in the open. So CARE is building a slaughterhouse to make it more hygienic.

Who does the building in these cases?

Masons and other skilled internally displaced people are helping with this work. CARE is trying to use the skills of the people in the camp and help them make a living through it as well, because they do get paid for their work.

Are there any plans for the future?

I think it’s been a pretty tough twelve months, and the charities have done an amazing job of organising everything in the camp and making it well structured, in a country where it is difficult to get these things done. Now I think the question is how to get the displaced people back into normal life.