IDP Camp

I arrived at my placement today. Yes, even a shocker for me. I was prepared for the slums, but did not think that I would be living so close to them. I am about 15 steps away from the Vurmilia IDP camp. 

I think the people who dropped me off at my location were waiting for a shocking expression as the said “welcome home”. Although my mind was racing I played it off as though I would have expected nothing more. I do not live like I am in an IDP camp but not too far off. My house is nothing more than a cement block house and a tin roof. There is not only no running water but only one large tank for the whole camp. If you thought that the toilets I was using in Thailand were a stretch they are still a step ahead of the hole in the ground here shared by many. We are allotted a cold bucket shower about once a week and a sparing cup of water to wash up our face and hands daily. As of now I have not showered (not by choice this time) since Saturday night in Chiang Mai. I am now writing on Wednesday and have traveled three hours on a bus, through 4 airports and 3 countries. 

IDP stands for Internally Displaced People. Which translates into people who are refugees of their own country. Where ever they were living, in the slums or in nearby towns, fled during the political clashes that led to large amounts of violence and riots. Homes and churches being burnt down with people inside, rape, and torture such as cutting off body parts are a few of the horrific stories I have heard. Many of these people have an education and businesses that were lost. People that are now living in this IDP camp next to me in very small tents that leaks in the rain, without much food or water and few opportunities for education or work were once on track to overcoming so many of the typical African obstacles. 

The government compensated each family with 10,000 shillings (80 shillings to 1USD = $125). These families put their money together to buy a piece of land that they could feel safe on. They purchased this land in 2008 and since then many families have moved to this land as non-registered  IDPs, meaning the government has no record of them and they received no compensation. Now there are 158 tents on this plot and a small school built by volunteers. Some people have a small garden although the conditions aren’t well, the women make baskets and jewelry, but being so far from a town there is not much market for them. What very little they do have is self-sustainable with very few resources.

I’m not exactly sure were to start on this project, it is more mind boggling and overwhelming than I had imagined. I hope to tell you in the future that we have changed a few lives here and give them some hope for the future.