A Multifaceted Approach to Community Support

In a project conducted by the World Food Programme, women from Tawila are learning not only how to make fuel-efficient stoves, but also how to cook more nutritious food for their children with locally sourced ingredients.

By Albert González Farran

In a conflict zone, humanitarian aid and development programmes typically work in tandem, with the idea being that, when both happen simultaneously, communities become more independent in facing new challenges as they emerge. In Darfur, as the conflict continues, the people living here are struggling with drought, malnutrition and disease, among many other challenges. The more prepared they are for dealing with these issues directly, the less they will be forced to rely on assistance from the agencies and organizations working to help them here.

As part of its core work in Darfur, the World Food Programme (WFP) distributes food to the people, but the agency also runs innovative initiatives that are uniquely designed to help communities across Darfur become more self-sufficient. Several of these programmes, implemented at the same time, are helping the people of Darfur face their challenges more effectively. In these programmes, WFP has been teaching residents in camps for displaced people how to use environmentally sustainable cooking methods, in a hygienic environment, to make locally sourced, nutritious food.

The work of WFP in the Rwanda camp for internally displaced people, located in the Tawila locality of North Darfur, represents one good example of this multidimensional strategy. Working in the camp since 2011, WFP personnel have conducted several training programmes designed to help women, men and children become more independent in the camp. While several people have participated in the workshops, WFP personnel estimate that more than 8,000 camp residents have learned the skills, while those who have been trained also have been training others.

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Two community volunteers measure Mahadia Hussein, age two, in a food-distribution centre in the Rwanda IDP camp. WFP officials and volunteers work daily with camp residents to check children living in the camp for malnutrition.