24.11.11
Potatoes turn into onions, donkeys and donkey carts when the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) helps the conflict affected population of Darfur in their efforts to create a future for themselves and their families.
Salah Abdul Mahmoud did not know how to provide for himself and his family before he became a part of the DRC ’Market Oriented Vegetable Production’ program, targeting mainly women and youth in West Darfur, Sudan.
The program is just one out of many, as the current program of DRC in Darfur is targeting 42,000 IDPs and 34,000 rural households in the Wadi Sali, Zalingei, Azoum and Jebel Mara regions of Darfur.
Salah Abdul Mahmoud is one of the young beneficiaries of the program. To him the Market Oriented Vegetable Production program has become the beginning of a thriving business. Last year he received four bags of potatoes, he planted, cared for and harvested with success. The original four bags became 40, of which he and his family consumed part and the rest were sold and invested - in new crops for his fields among them onions.
”DRC potatoes have given birth to 85 bags of Onions, I am so happy,” says Salah Abdul Mahmoud.
The presence of DRC in the rural areas is aimed at rebuilding the livelihoods of the conflict affected populations through ’non-discriminatory’ activities that encourage and promote peaceful co-existence between the Arab and African communities.
Hawa Mohamed Abdallah and Suraya Adam Osman from the Zagawa Ethnic group did not own land when they joined the Seed Multiplication program. They both borrowed land from their Fur neighbors and planted ground nuts. Hawa Mohamed Abdallah earned income enough to acquire herself a piece of land. Suraya Adam Osman on the other hand bought a donkey, a donkey cart and invested part of her income in a bakery business - these businesses are today the lifeline of Suraya Adam Osmans family.
”These programs are aimed at ensuring that livelihoods of conflict affected non-camp populations living in rural areas of West Darfur have been protected and that the affected population is moving towards recovery on the basis of own resources and capacities,” says Santa Abiria, DRC Darfur Project Manager.
DRC has operated in West Darfur, Sudan, since August 2004. DRC activities include, among other things, implementing protection and livelihood programs, small infrastructure development like construction of schools and Community Centers, humanitarian interventions such as food aid, basic Non-Food Items and agricultural inputs like seed, tools and vocational skills.
The DRC ’Market Oriented Vegetable Production’ program is part of DRCs Livelihood Diversity and Enterprise Development Project. It is funded by EC.
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