I arrive in Nyala after a day in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital and most prosperous city. The contrast is so dramatic that it is hard to believe we are still in the same country. Khartoum, the city where the Blue and White Nile meet, is booming — oil revenues fuel construction everywhere. It is a capital of a middle income country and only the occasional donkey on the busy streets reminds of Sudan’s rural soul.
Nyala, in the South of Darfur, has none of Khartoum’s glamour. It is visibly poor, with mostly unpaved streets, lots of mud houses and frequent electric power failures. But Nyala is well off compared to the camps, hosting millions of internally displaced and refugees across Darfur. Power cuts don’t exist there for a simple reason – there is no power to cut. Read the full entry
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One day when I have the time to look back at my life, the trip through the red sands of Maradi , Niger, will be among those I will remember. It is hot, the rainy season has not started yet , and the danger of hunger is already tangible. 3 million people live in Maradi, and more than half of them are at risk of malnutrition. Without help, this risk will increase between now and November, when the lean season ends (provided there is more rain than last year so that November will bring in a good harvest). We are here to get a sense of the severity of the current food crisis and the effectiveness of the measures we have taken so far. And we do it in the best possible way – by talking to as many people as we can from all walks of life – the governor, villagers, mothers in a hospital, humanitarian workers. 