El Fasher, 26 September 2011 - “When the conflict broke out in Darfur in 2003, it  not only destroyed property and displaced thousands of civilians but it also disrupted the means of livelihood for nomads,” Amina Omer Alhaj, a Darfur nomadic woman, told a conference dedicated to Darfur’s nomads in El Fasher, Sudan.

For the past decade, several UN organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such OXFAM have started projects to assist nomads. Nomadic women have been trained in a variety of income-generating activities to support their families. Yet Darfur’s nomads continue to suffer from lack of basic services, such as education, medical care, jobs training and access to water.

During a two-day workshop (25-26 September)  at El Fasher University sponsored by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, representatives of nomad groups such as the  North Darfur Nomads Peace and Development Network asked for such projects to continue  to enable them to stand on their feet and support themselves and their families again as they had before the conflict.

Women nomadic leaders highlighted the challenges they are facing in their communities and presented some fundamental proposals that they would like to be funded. They emphasized the need for development projects in the education, health care, vocational training and mostly raising general awareness about the lives of Darfur’s nomads, who they say may number one million people.

Sudan introduced primary schools for nomads in recent years, but those left children without opportunities for higher education. Before then, nomadic girls were not even allowed to be educated,   due to early marriages and other traditional practices. “Out of 200,000 girls, only 1,000 were allowed to go to school,” said Zahra Eissa, a nomadic woman.

Participants at the workshop. Photo by Olivier Chassot.

The workshop aimed to bring together the nomads and aid agencies working in Darfur. It gave the nomad representatives an opportunity to raise their concerns and needs and to open a new page in the cooperation between them and  humanitarian organizations, as well as with the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

During the workshop, UNAMID also presented an overview of its quick impact projects dedicated to nomads and explained the process required to receive funding. In this context Mr. Oriano Micaletti, Acting Head of UNAMID’s Humanitarian Protection Strategy, urged the nomad representatives to prioritize their needs and submit their proposals for review.

In a similar workshop held in Nyala this year, UNAMID committed $100,000 in projects to Nomadic communities in South Darfur, and will dedicate the same amount to initiatives for North Darfur.

“The forum provided a great opportunity to the North Darfurian nomads, as it is the first time that the group was able to meet and discuss their needs and requirements at an international level,” said Ibrahim Mohamed, a nomad Network member.

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Susan Manuel, Deputy director, manuels@un.org, mobile: +249 (0)92 241 0274

Guiomar Pau Sole, Media Relations, paug@un.org, mobile: +249 (0)90 090 5097