Gaffar Mohammud Saeneen and Eric Reeves, Co-Chairs
Nancy Reeves, Editor and Funding Advisor; Julie Darcq, Online Campaign Coordinator
Overview (Eric)
This brief overview notes two signal events in Zamzam camp: the rehabilitation of a fifth water well (particularly timely as the rains have ended) and a large and elaborate celebratory food distribution to more than 700 of the neediest families in Sector D of Zamzam IDP camp—mostly women and some 1,500 children, a great many of them orphans. Meals contained substantial noodles and some meat, a rarity in the camp; many of those served had not eaten a proper meal in days.
The events occurred on October 1 at Al-Salam School in D section of the camp (see aerial map below) and celebrated the beginning of the fourth year of our project in Zamzam. Gaffar has heard from those in the camp and even in the Darfuri diaspora, as the event has become widely known. Gaffar remarks, “Team Zamzam has become the talk of all of North Darfur, areas surrounding it, and many other places in Sudan.” The Team has already developed a well-deserved reputation in North Darfur for providing excellent assistance to women who have been victims of genocidal violence—more than 5,000 girls and women to date. And current violence is displacing even more non-Arab civilians, even as sexual violence is increasing.
The organizing, preparing, and distributing food at the celebration was entirely the work Team Zamzam, a truly extraordinary group of women who have made a significant difference in the lives of many thousands of displaced persons. The Team’s deep gratitude extends to me, to Gaffar, but most of all to the generosity of those who have made this project possible and sustained its growth.
A collection of photographs may be found here.
