Qatar Red Crescent undertakes key empowerment project in West Darfur

In partnership with a number of international agencies and local authorities, Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) has made progress in its Social Harmony initiative launched last May to promote peaceful coexistence and productive capabilities in West Darfur, Sudan.Lasting for 18 months to end in October, the total cost of the project is estimated at $500,000.The purpose of the programme is to aid 500 postwar repatriated families of Arara, a very poor village located in Beida locality, West Darfur state, which was badly hit by the armed conflict. To implement this developmental project, QRC joined hands with its Sudanese counterpart as well as several other bodies, including the United Nations Development Programme, the Sudanese government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission and the University of Zalingei, Geneina branch, with support from the Sudanese ministries of agriculture and social welfare as well as the local community in the 28,000-population village.QRC secretary-general Saleh bin Ali al-Mohannadi said, “The effort seeks to create an atmosphere of peace and stability by dealing with conflict factors and containing tribal tensions first, then taking action to enhance the means of making livelihoods, reconstruction and development of natural resources.”The war in Darfur weighed heavily against the region, with whole villages obliterated and more than 2mn people losing their homes and forced into refugee camps. After the signing of the 2011 peace agreement, the displaced populations returned home with high hopes of restoring their normal life. However, they only found a painful situation there: most indigenous villages lacked the slightest requirements of life, infrastructure and services were destroyed, and the sources of income were no more existent.Moreover, despite the apparent coexistence among the tribes and social groups in Arara, the state of peace remains fragile and the risk of a new conflict is still looming on the horizon, especially amid limited means of living. As such, it becomes crucial for the development of the region to set up projects to achieve harmony and maintain its social fabric in order to ensure early recovery for returnees.