The Red Cross is a lifeline to people living in remote areas of conflict-torn Darfur.

Sophie Orr, a British Red Cross delegate who has spent the past year working for the ICRC in Sudan, explained: "The Red Cross works mostly in the isolated rural areas of Darfur, with the exception of Gereida camp, while other organisations work mostly in the towns and camps for internally displaced people."Wherever we go in these isolated areas, people say: 'You must come back because it makes us feel protected when you're here. It makes us feel secure to know people are thinking about us.'

Flexible

"The range of our activities is very wide and flexible, so we can respond to communities' needs. That is necessary because the environment changes so quickly, so our programmes need to be flexible. If we can't get to a location for two months, we need to know the projects will continue without us being there physically."

One of the most popular activities is the tracing and messaging service. Sophie said: "There is no postal service in Darfur, so the messages provide a way for people to stay in touch. Our office has been processing 800-1,000 messages a month."

Thanks to the Red Cross there have also been a number of families reunited after being separated for up to four years. Sophie remembered: "There was a 14 year-old boy who hadn't seen his family for three years. His village had been attacked and he had fled to Chad, where he lived with a relative in a refugee camp."

Reunited

The ICRC has a database of children who are separated from their parents and are living in camps. Sophie explained: "The boy's parents put a tracing message in. We found him and brought him by car to Al Geneina in Darfur, just across the border from Chad, then by plane to Zalingei.

"He had never been in a plane before. It was really sweet; he was very excited when he arrived. We usually take the children straight to their parents' village, but because of the bad security situation at the time, we couldn't leave. His father offered to come to Zalingei by public transport, along with some other men.

"When the boy and his father saw each other, they shook hands and then they formed a circle with the other men, put their hands out, and prayed a prayer of thanks."

Emotional

Sophie and her colleagues gave the reunited family some clothes, sandals, and a hygiene kit. Sophie recalled: "The boy and his father started to chat and you could see they were becoming closer. I'm sure his mother was really emotional when he arrived home."

The Red Cross has implemented several other projects in remote areas of Darfur. Villagers have been given donkey carts so they can transport food or ill people, while women have received manual irrigation pumps to irrigate small plots of land.

Health

There is also a vaccination campaign to ensure that children in isolated areas are protected against diseases like polio.

Sophie explained: "We support two public health centres in rural areas. We pay the staff and give them medications, vaccinations and materials such as mosquito nets for pregnant women. One of the centres is on the government's side of the front line, and the other is on the rebel-held side because people can't necessarily cross the line to get health care."