Thursday, October 28, 2010

Sudanese Refugee Camp



Ethiopia hosts a large population of refugees from many African countries including Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Liberia, Djibouti, Uganda, South Africa, and Yemen. However, refugees from Somalia, Sudan, and Eritrea make up the majority. Currently there are a total of nine refugee camps located in the east, west, and northern parts of the country. The refugee camp that we visited housed refugees primarily from Sudan. Most of the Sudanese refugees arrived in Ethiopia in the early 1980s. Many of the people in these camps have lived in them for so long that the camp is all they know. New arrivals continue to flow into Ethiopia because of conflicts in Sudan. The conflicts in Sudan are a result of religious, ethnic, economical, and tribal differences. The refugee population in Ethiopia reached its peak of more than 300,000 in 1991. The number has now reduced substantially, and currently stands at 90,806 (World Food Program Monthly Food Requirements March 2004).



The camp that we visited was called Fugnido refugee camp, which is 2 hours from Gambella, Ethiopia. Fugnido is the largest camp, hosting about 35 per cent of current Sudanese refugees. In 2002, ethnic clashes within the camps resulted in the death and displacement of many refugees. Clashes between two major tribes: the Anuak and Nuer tribes as well as other clashes between the northern and southern Sudanese have become common in the Fugnido, Bonga, and Sherkole camps. During our visit, we learned that today there are over 20,000 people living in the Anuak and Nuer refugee camps. Many people were displaced and sent to other locations due to clashes between tribes. Although due to the ongoing conflicts in Sudan, the number of refugees is expected to rise. In general, people become refugees for a number of reasons but the most common are:Conflict-induced, Economic, or Political. Refugee influxes in Ethiopia are primarily a result of ongoing political and civil unrest as well as recurring natural disasters in neighboring countries.


While we were at the refugee camp, we brought 525 pair of underwear to give out to the children in the camp. There were many more children than what we had to give but those who did receive the underwear were grateful. Many of the refugees that live in the camps learned to speak English and requested that the next time that we come back to bring English Bibles. There are many people who live in these camps who are not blessed with the material things that we have in the United States, but despite all of our wealth, the people in these camps don’t complain about not having the material things that we take for granted.




Sunday, October 17, 2010

Helping People to Help Themselves

One of our missions in our ministry is to help people to help themselves, so they in turn can help other people. While in Ethiopia, we worked with several church pastors to accomplish this mission. Although we couldn't help everyone that we talked to, after interviewing many people who have a desire to help themselves so they can eventually help other people, we finally connected with a young lady who wanted to own her own taxi. We learned from experience that the best way to help someone is not from "handouts" but by giving them the opportunity that was not available to them previously. The opportunity that she didn't have was access to money. It can be very difficult to get a loan in many developing countries and Ethiopia is no different. We found that the best way that we could help is by lending the funds to start a business and as funds are paid back to continue the process for someone else by re-lending the same funds. In this particular case, we funded the opportunity for this young entrepreneur to start a taxi business. We will keep everyone up to date as this business venture continues to grow.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Back to Ethiopia October 2010

It's October/November 2010 and we were back in Ethiopia. October is the end of the rainy season and a time when the weather begins to get cooler.