Women and girls collect water in the new Farchana refugee camp, Eastern Chad. Photo: LWF/ C. Kästner-Meyer
LWF installs boreholes and sanitation
(LWI) - In Chad’s refugee camps, water is the most critical need. Since fleeing conflict in Sudan, 700,000 people have crossed into Chad. More than 200,000 people have arrived in the Ouaddai province, settling in five newly established camps. In Arkoum, where 50,000 refugees now live, conditions are particularly dire.
“There simply isn’t enough water,” says Faba Djondang, LWF Area Coordinator for Ouaddaï and Sila Provinces. “What we have doesn’t even cover 25 percent of the refugees’ needs. Families walk long distances just to find water, and even then, it’s often not enough for everyone.”
There simply isn’t enough water. What we have doesn’t even cover 25 percent of the refugees’ needs.
Faba DJONDANG, LWF Area Coordinator for Ouaddaï and Sila Provinces, Chad
The Chad-Sudan border lies in the arid Sahel. Arkoum and other refugee camps are built on sand, with families living in huts made of metal sheets or dried grass. Electricity comes from solar panels or generators, and water is sourced from seasonal rivers or boreholes that might dry up when the rainy season ends —a supply that is far from sufficient.
Shortages of water and sanitation
LWF has installed boreholes and latrines in some refugee camps to improve access to water and sanitation. In Arkoum, the team recently set up 50 toilets, and a partner organization built five more. However, this is still grossly inadequate for a population of 50,000 people, says the LWF Area Coordinator. Recent funding cuts will leave gaps for an already underfunded crisis.
“Fifty toilets for 50,000 people—this is nowhere near enough,” Djondang exclaims. Women and children are at risk because there aren’t enough safe and private spaces.
Many refugees live 10 to 11 people crammed into a single shelter, struggling to stay safe and healthy. Without sufficient toilets, clean water and items like soap and detergent, diseases spread quickly, putting thousands of lives at risk. At the same time, medical facilities are critically overstretched. With tens of thousands of refugees in need, there simply aren’t enough doctors, nurses, or medical supplies to meet the demand.
A traditional water selling point in a seasonal riverbed, Farchana town, Eastern Chad . Photo: LWF/ C. Kästner-Meyer
Sanitation committee in Arkoum refugee camp, Eastern Chad. Photo: LWF/ C. Kästner-Meyer
Growing tensions over resources
The influx of refugees is also increasing pressure on local resources. Firewood, once a primary source of energy, has been banned due to environmental concerns, creating additional hardship.
This restriction has led to rising tensions. The host community—already struggling with poverty—does not see justification in the food distribution and cash handouts for refugees. In some areas, new boreholes built for refugee camps have been destroyed at night by local water vendors, who view them as competition for their business.
“For 20 years, refugees from Sudan have come to our communities,” says Idriss Koni Chidi, sub-prefect of the Hadjer Hadid municipality. “Some of our fields are now used for the refugee camps, we must share water and firewood. Do not forget about us. Humanitarian aid should also support host communities!”
But even among the refugees themselves, the daily scarcity of necessities is eroding the social fabric, Djondang observes. “Every day, there is less and less,” he says. “People are desperate.”
Food distribution from humanitarian agencies like the World Food Programme (WFP) lasts only 10 days. To help, LWF has launched livelihood activities so refugees can produce their own food. However, much more is needed to provide sustainable, long-term solutions.
"We are doing everything we can," says Djondang. "But without more support, we simply won’t be able to provide for all the families in need. Water, food, and sanitation are basic human rights. We need help—urgently.”
