Twenty-five volunteers from the association were welcomed by locals in Darfur. Distributing soap, cream, mirrors, pens, pencils, notebooks and food packages, volunteers also sacrificed animals and distributed the meat to the poor. Children were exited when they opened their packages, which included pencils, notebooks, chocolates and candies.Kimse Yok Mu President Mehmet Özkara stated that since 2003, an estimated 300,000 people have died and over 2.5 million have fled their homes due to conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan and that Şengi, a village in Nyala, is one that many people left. “We carried out a project helping the Darfur people. We reconstructed buildings, which were in very bad shape, in Şengi,” noted Özkara, underlining that they renamed Şengi “Orhaniye” upon the request of the Nyala Governor’s Office.
Özkara emphasized that they will train the locals in agriculture. “Every person is interested in a job. The locals want to do something rather than accept our aid packages. Therefore, we are determined to train these locals in agriculture, and we believe that our project will be an example for aid associations throughout the world,” added Özkara.
Children in Darfur look at future with hope
Children living in Darfur, a region in Sudan, the largest country in Africa, deal with numerous obstacles. Sudan suffered a 17-year civil war followed by ethnic, religious and economic conflict. Children are always witnessing problems and conflicts in Darfur. Not understanding the reasons for these clashes, children still continue to live their lives. For Darfur children, a soccer ball is a luxury, so they play with one made from socks.
After the children play soccer with their friends, they are supposed to collect water in bottles and bring the water to their homes as droughts are still a major problem in Darfur. Sometimes they travel up to five kilometers to collect water for their family. Even though there are many problems in Darfur, children look hopefully to the future.
