Like many other refugee camps here in Africa and around the world, this one is run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). We know from our experience in Kakuma that such camps are not all equal.
There’s no comparison to the relative comfort and freedom most of us once enjoyed.
Here, we have little option but to make do and mend, although the mend factor requires money we don’t have. Apparently, neither has the United Nations. Their global funding is at an all-time low, directly impacting every camp resident.
Since we have been here (from early 2024).
Our News Updates section explains why we took the risk and how we arrived in South Sudan.
Overall, it was, with hindsight, a good move. Since arriving, we have each been assigned refugee status, with procedures initiated for interviews and consideration of resettlement in a LGBTQ+ friendly country.
A change of president in the US caused us a serious setback, but attempts are afoot to get us back on track. Homophobia and prejudice still simmer, but seem less threatening than what we endured in Kakuma.
Some of us in the group shortly after arriving in South Sudan.
Food and Rations
With no source of income, we are forced to rely on handouts, in the form of allocated rations distributed by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
Over the past few months, we have seen food rations shrink to the point where monthly rations run out before the month ends.
The WFP is the leading provider of food rations in most UN refugee camps, distributing general and specialised food to treat malnutrition and to provide school meals.
They coordinate and provide food, working closely with the UNHCR and other partners/governmental bodies, to implement and manage food security strategies in refugee camps worldwide.
However, the food we do get is a mundane mix that might include rice, beans-peas-lentils, grains and oil. Never do we get meat, veg, fruit, potatoes or bread. Everyone is constantly hungry!
Food and Ration Supplements
Occasionally, various missionaries, charities, and humanitarian organisations donate food or even give everyone money to buy food. When that happens, it’s usually around 1,000 Kenyan shillings (KES), which we exchange for local South Sudanese pounds (SSP).
These current conversion rates indicate the buying power in different currencies: 1008 SSP. £5.82 sterling, $7.73 US dollars.11.88 Australian dollars. 6.68 Euros.
We can buy at markets in camp, or from shops outside camp. Because of the country’s instability and conflict, everything is expensive.
To give you an idea of what 1008 South Sudan pounds can buy: 1kg of maize flour, or less than a half a litre of cooking oil, or 0.5 kilograms of rice. Alternatively, it might stretch to a fistful of charcoal for cooking.
Sadly, but out of necessity, we ask for donations to help us through the frequent times when we just don’t have enough to eat, or when we fall sick and need medication or hospital attention. Medications often require payment up front unless funded by the UN, which is not always the case.
Trying to help ourselves
We’re a close-knit group, so we help each other as needs must. We often share what we have, sometimes with others outside the group. Our view is that we’re all in this together and rely on peer support and our advocates from other countries.
A recent self-help initiative was kindly funded by our friend and supporter, Chris, in the UK. We then launched a daring farming project to grow vegetables, aiming to supplement our limited diet and boost our immunity. Read more about its success here. Our new farming project
Image shows the first of crops growing.
Shelters/sleeping rooms and cooking facilities,
When we first came here, we had to sleep rough in the reception area. We now sleep in a shelter made of corrugated tin and canvas, with about 10 to 15 individuals, regardless of gender. People can partition their sleeping space with a bedsheet or a curtain. for some privacy.
At the entrance of each shelter is a cooking space, where individuals can prepare their own meals. We use charcoal or gathered wood to cook on, using small make-shift stoves and pots we have acquired over time.
Sometimes we cook as a group, even though it always turns out as gruel or porridge. (Although when we harvest what we’ve grown, vegetables are a welcome change.)
We can adjust our sleeping space to make room for storing food rations. Theft is possible if we all leave the shelter empty.
Image of a typical sleeping area.
Toilets and showers
When we first arrived here, sanitary conditions were dire. There were no proper toilet facilities to speak of, so people went into the bush to go. When it rained, the whole camp became swamped with human faeces. That caused a lot of sickness.
Nothing was being done about it, but since then, toilet pits have been erected, and some of us help keep them clean.
There are still not enough for everybody, so, after some debate, we are now allowed to use the toilets at the nearby primary school and hospital. We’ll leave images of the toilets to your imagination!
There are no showers with running water for camp residents. We have to use a tent-like structure, with a plastic container filled with water to pour over ourselves as we wash.
Since there were arguments from other camp residents that we LGBTQ+ people shouldn’t be using them, we have constructed two more for our use only. From a sanitation and personal hygiene viewpoint, they are far from pretty or ideal, but they’re functional and help each of us maintain a sense of dignity.
One of the canvas-covered ‘showers’.
Weather
South Sudan is hotter than Kakuma, with temperatures rising to 42-45 degrees. Although we get bouts of rain, it can remain dry for 10 months before the rainy season starts. Especially during that time, strong and destructive winds can take a toll on shelters, crops, and anything not set in concrete.
The soil is sandy, so although we get flooding, we don’t get the huge muddy puddles that were common in Kakuma.
Flooding after a heavy and prolonged downpour.
Clinics, Medicines, and Refugee Welfare
We have one hospital (imaged below) shared with the host (local) community. The hospital provides treatment for chronic illnesses, fractures, and maternity care. The UNHCR claims to have lost funding, which often results in inadequate medication being available in the camp.
The image is of the only camp hospital.
There are pharmacy clinics that people refer to for medicines and advice.
People with serious diseases have to travel to Juba to access treatment. Unless the UN pays, medication and treatment often need to be paid for. Not having funds to do that means we go without medication or try to treat ailments ourselves.
That’s not easy with the many contagious infections common in this environment. Malaria and typhoid are recurring illnesses that some of us have to endure.
Setbacks and disappointments that in normal life we would cope with can ignite depression and a sense of hopelessness.
We strive to maintain a sense of purpose and to add meaning to each day. Within the group, most of us have been camp residents (Kakuma and here) for over five years. We yearn for freedom, equality and personal choice.
Our recent farming project is a positive step towards maintaining our self-esteem. It’s hard work, and a welcome distraction from the reality of our mere existence.
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Campos.
