AFRICA/CHAD - Jesuit Refugee Service resumes operations in Chad to help refugees from Darfur

N’Djamena (Agenzia Fides) - This month Mateo Aguirre SJ, director of JRS West Africa with Joaquín Ciervide SJ, new director of JRS Chad, will reopen the regional office of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in eastern Chad.
JRS Chad will provide technical assistance to SECADEV, Caritas Chad, presently involved in programmes of primary education and various social and community services in two camps of refugees who fled the western Sudan region of Darfur. From 14 to 27 July Fr. Aguirre visited camps where SECADEV is operating to see how JRS can help meet the needs of the refugees.
The priest held meetings with the local Catholic community in N’Djamena and the surrounding camps at Mongo and Abéché. He reached agreements with aid agencies Catholic Relief Service (Caritas USA) and the local representative of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). On visits to the camps of Kounoungou and Farchana he saw the bad conditions in these refugees camps and the lack of foreign aid.
Humanitarian personnel also works under difficult circumstances because of lack of security and communications. After speaking with the main operators in the field Fr. Aguirre realised that there is a real need to improve and raise the level of instruction with primary and secondary schooling and also courses of basic instruction for adults, professional training and services of informal education, training teachers and organising cultural activities to help children develop their abilities.
Between 2004 and 2005 JRS worked in close contact with SECADEV to train local personnel to provide education and community services for people in camps. In March this year a preliminary mission led by JRS staff members Roxanne Schares SSND and Joaquín Ciervide SJ, visited camps to assess the work and send a report JRS international offices.
Initially JRS will help SECADEV personnel develop existing programmes in Kounoungou and Farchana camps, before addressing other needs still to be met. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 11/9/2006 righe 34 parole 409)