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In 2006 and 2007, several outbursts of violence caused the displacement of tens of thousands of people in eastern Chad. The populations are today still having to cope with the consequences of chronic insecurity and violence in local areas, particularly in the areas on the border with Sudan. Whereas humanitarian and development organizations operating in the region are few and far between, the ICRC is continuing its operations there to assist displaced people, the war-wounded and prisoners as well as the most vulnerable members of the local populations.
See complete photo collection on the ICRC web site
ICRC / M. Ngardobe Nodjingue
In Goz Ameer, near Goz Beida, Sudanese
refugees write Red Cross messages to
their families in Sudan.
The ICRC identifies and registers
children who have been separated from
their families as well as other
vulnerable people living in the refugee
camps in eastern Chad. Across the border,
in Sudan, the organization traces these
people's families so that the messages
can be exchanged. Since the beginning of
the year over 1,600 messages have been
collected and distributed in this way
between people who have been separated
by the violence.
REF:
The ICRC distributes agricultural
equipment in the village of Ardebe to
people who have been displaced by
violence and to the communities who have
given them shelter.
In order to boost productivity amongst
the farmers of Dar Sila (in eastern Chad)
, to reduce the time they spend working
in the fields and to increase the
acreage under crop, the ICRC distributed
hoes, sets of weeding tools and donkey
harnesses to some 3,700 families in 23
different villages during the months of
May and June. Two-thirds of the
recipients are former displaced persons
who have recently returned home. The
others are resident families.
REF:
The first batch of ploughs is
distributed in the village of Morena in
the Dogdore (Dar Sila) border area. The
ploughs, transported in separate parts,
are unloaded with the help of the
village chief. The ICRC teams then
assemble the new tools, try them out and
give demonstrations.
REF:
A pedal water-pump in the Dogdore area.
The ICRC plans to repair 30 wells in the
Sila and Assoungha districts (on the
border with Sudan) in 2009 in order to
ensure that 36,000 people (displaced
persons, returnees or residents) and
their livestock have access to more
water of better quality.
REF:
A well recently sunk in the village of
Harouftama. The morphology of the
terrain makes it very difficult to dig
deep to look for water. Many attempts
are unsuccessful.
REF:
Work has just been completed on the
construction of the Lobotike health
centre in Goz Beida.
The ICRC builds or upgrades health
centres in rural areas, as it has also
done in Kawa (Assoungha), in order to
improve access to care for displaced
persons and the communities who take
them in.
In the Birak (Dar Tama) and Kawa (
Assoungha) areas, traditional midwives
are also trained with a view to
improving maternal and infant health.
And in the prefecture of Guereda some 3,
000 children under 5 years of age have
been vaccinated and 2,300 women of
childbearing age have been given anti-
tetanus injections.
REF:
The distribution of a 3-month supply of
sorghum, oil, sugar and salt enables the
most vulnerable population groups to
meet their most urgent needs. This aid
covers 5,000 families (approximately 25,
000 people) who have either returned to
or reside in the Sila region as well as
670 families (approximately 4,000 people)
who are still displaced in the Birak
area.
The ICRC also provides the needy with a
number of items such as tarpaulins,
blankets, khangas (traditional cotton
clothing), jerrycans, buckets, cooking
sets and soap. These items are
distributed partly with the help of the
Red Cross of Chad, as is the case here
in Ade, very close to the Sudanese
border.
REF:
An "ordinary" day in the hospital
operating theatre in Abeche, the main
city in eastern Chad, where two patients
with gunshot wounds have just been
operated on with the help of the ICRC
surgical team.
The team was based in the capital, N'
Djamena, from 2006 to 2008, carrying out
ad hoc missions to Abéché in the event
of mass admissions of wounded casualties,
but in February 2009 they set up in
Abeche Hospital, where they operate the
war-wounded as well as any other persons
needing emergency surgery.
The team is composed of a surgeon, an
anaesthetist, a theatre nurse, a post-
operative nurse, a physiotherapist and a
project manager.
REF:
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
