Chad: Supporting women and girls in refugee camps

KEY FACTS

There are 226,000 refugees from Darfur living in eastern Chad

61% of Darfur refugees in eastern Chad are female

There are 26,786 people living in the Oure Cassoni refugee camp

There are 226,000 refugees from Darfur living in eastern Chad. The camp in which WJR works hosts approx. 26,000. 61% are female.

There are numerous threats to females in the camp, including:

Tensions with the local Chadian population
Presence of military groups
Growing tensions within the refugee community- people are fed up and restless and want to go home, causing sexual exploitation and domestic violence to rise
There are few natural resources in the region and as a result there is tension with the locals over firewood collection
Firewood collection also puts females at risk of physical and sexual abuse

The objective of the project is to increase the protection and well-being of Darfur refugee women and girls in Oure Cassoni refugee camp. This is achieved by increasing their self-reliance and providing psychosocial support through participation in meaningful activities.

The project provides women and girls with skills training classes: permaculture (art and science of designing living spaces), handicrafts, knitting and sewing. Materials for the courses are provided and the refugee women are responsible for distribution and implementation.

There are 16,291 women and girls living in this camp and all benefit from the programme even though only 400 will participate directly. Those on the programme are used to disseminate information and to send others to the right places when they require medical assistance. Indirectly the programme also assists the entire population of the camp (26,786).

The programme will be monitored at field level by a coordinator on the ground as well as other field staff