Safe Stoves for Darfur Refugee Mothers

Dear Darfuir Women Network's family,

The Impact of Life-Saving Assistance Pilot Project:

Beneficiaries: Refugees from Darfur in Chad             January 28, 2024 

The Life-saving Assistance Pilot Project is an emergency project that has supported 1,200 Sudanese refugee families in Chad. Who left the camp in groups. Most of those who left were women and children seeking agricultural land and permission to farm to ensure their children’s survival.  We provided shelter, personal hygiene items, and food for families at risk of starvation. 

The families were settling into new farmlands after fleeing the violence in Sudan.  During the time between fleeing their homes in Sudan and harvesting food on new land, families were left in a dangerous situation.  Darfur Women Network provided food and supplies to tide them over.  

Our team traveled to the agricultural field to visit the life-saving pilot Project beneficiaries. Interviews, feedback, focus groups, and observation gave us valuable information about the program's successes and potential for the future.

The program's overarching goal was to provide food, shelter, and personal hygiene items so the refugee farmers and their families could focus on farming. 

• Our team asked the farmers:

1. Have you benefited from Life-saving items?     

How?

1. How would you describe the result of your agricultural activities?
2. How do you feel about your harvest?
3. What types of crops have you grown?
4. What is your plan during the summer?
5. What is your plan for the next rainy season?
6. Please describe the difference between your previous farming and the new location?

Recipients expressed gratitude that people were concerned about their dire conditions and gratitude to those who gave money to help them.  The food, shelter, and hygiene items helped the farmers to focus on their agricultural activities. Knowing they could feed their children while they waited for their crops to mature was a huge relief.  The soap allowed them to keep themselves and their families clean.  The waterproof blankets protected families from the rain and provided space for the farmers on their farms. 

They grew diverse crops such as Milt, Peanut, Sesame, Black Eye Peas, and Okra and Mulukhia leaves.  During harvest, the farmers built shelters from straw (collected from milt farm after harvest). They used waterproof sheets to clean the crops, and they also used them to save crops to sell and to eat during the rainy season.

Saving straws from their farms to build and maintain their houses will help them save money. Transferring crops and straws to the camp created income for their new neighbors and helped the local economy.

The refugee farmers used waterproof sheets during harvest. 

The farmers performed their activities manually. They used simple manual tools for their agricultural activities, which were made locally despite their limited resources. 

The beneficiaries reported gratitude for having basic necessities while their farms were getting up and running.  It gave them more money to buy seeds to grow, giving them a greater harvest and enough surplus to sell and give to their neighbors in need.  They could grow enough to feed their children and eradicate their hunger.

The diversity of crops increases harvest yield and reliability.  Participants could also build and maintain their homes in the camp using the straw leftover after harvesting Milt. 

The diverse crops will help improve the economic status of the farmers. They can sell peanuts as raw, boiled, or/ and homemade peanut oi- income generating activities.  Also, the farmers can sell black eye peas, sesame, milt, okra, and straws to send their children to school and care for their families.

Moreover, they gave away some of these crops, known as Zakat, to those who are refugees with a disability, are elderly, or those acting as caretakers. 

Refugee farmers are ready to transfer their diverse crops.

The Live-Saving Assistance Pilot Project has aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The Darfur Women Network ensures that this project increases resiliency and food security for farmers and their families.

Farmers can be more sustainable, break the cycles of hunger and poverty, and improve their livelihood and economic status. In addition, they improved their community economy by renting horse cards and cars to transfer their crops and straws to the camp. 

Our project proved the positive change and contributed to community-led development that is genuinely sustainable. 

We looked at the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals and how our projects in Chad contribute to the refugees from Darfur. 

Agenda 2030 states that all forms of poverty, including extreme poverty, should be eradicated. 

Families in Darfur refugee camps are the most vulnerable to extreme poverty.  There is a high dependency on aid in addition to the inexistence of jobs, which puts these populations below the poverty line.

The impact of this project has aligned with UN SDGS as follows:

UN SDGS:

# 1:  NO Poverty 

# 2: No Hunger

#8: Good Job and Economic Growth

#4: Quality Education 

#5: Gender Equality 

#15: Life on Land 

#17: Partnership 

800 refugee farmers –size of 6 members per family- total of direct beneficiaries are 2400 persons are our direct beneficiaries. In addition to indirect beneficiaries who received donations, there are 1000 families with disabled, elderly, and sick people in the camp. Through our Life-Saving Pilot project, we tackle poverty by providing free food, bar soap, and waterproof sheets. The refugee farmers performed their cultural activities. 

As a result, they produced diverse crops to ensure their families’ food security and eradicate hunger ( SDG # 2).

Reduce poverty ( SDG# 1) and improve their nutritious food and economic status as well as self-sufficiency and resiliency (#8: Good Job and Economic Growth). We assisted farmers regardless of their gender, which is highlighted with SDG #5: Gender Equality, as well as SDG # 15: Using land for securing food security and economic empowerment. 

Our Life-Saving Project's positive impact has resulted from the partnership between Darfur Women Network and GlobalGiving, which has aligned with UN SDG No. 17.

How effective is fighting hunger and poverty with agriculture?

Based on the result of our project, the Darfur Women Network believes that agriculture helps refugees to produce surplus diverse crops, which contributes to a significant reduction in childhood malnutrition, hunger, and poverty and no need for humanitarian food distributions, as well as powering the local economy after harvesting.

 Also, ensure food security, secure home building materials, and achieve financial independence, self-sufficiency, and resiliency. Farmers to achieve financial independence. 

Conclusion: Based on the evaluation of our project, we found that supporting refugees to farm to transform themselves to self-sufficiency and resiliency rather than depending on the aid.  Also, it broke the cycles of hunger and poverty. Economic empowerment of the farmers allowed them to provide nutritious meals to their children.  

The Live-Saving Pilot Project has aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Farmers can be more sustainable, break the cycles of hunger and poverty, and improve their livelihood and economy.  This project helps families take a critical step to break the cycles of hunger and poverty. 

Darfur Women Network recognizes the generous support from GlobalGiving, which fosters a positive impact among the survivors of genocide in Darfur who are living in the refugee camp in Chad. With love and honor, we call on our partner, GlobalGiving, to continue helping refugee farmers during this rainy season to empower more refugees and ensure their transformation and resiliency. We also call on our donors to help us support more farmers.  While our project successfully assisted 1200 families, there are many more in dire need of relief.

Agriculture plays a significant role in the fight against both refugees’ hunger and poverty.

https://youtu.be/5-twAi6hLDU?si=yHuZBL5VWnWNmnb3