They Teach Them Fishing
Wad Hasab Allah
Its that Chinese proverb that says, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," and its the wisdom that walks on two feet at the Wad El Kabir Girls Center in El Gedaref city, eastern Sudan.
Zainab, a mother of seven, who was forced by the horrors of war to flee the capital in search of a safe haven, didnt realize she had a hidden talent that would help her in such harsh conditions until she entered the shelter at Wad El Kabir. She had headed to El Gedaref in her displacement journey to protect her children, several months earlier.
Despite the significant shortcomings accompanying the performance of international organizations in addressing the humanitarian catastrophe exacerbated by the fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces that began on April 15 last year, and the resulting displacement and homelessness, which, according to those same organizations, exceeded 10 million people distributed between internal displacement and seeking refuge in neighboring countries, despite these shortcomings, there have been some bright spots that represented shining successes, surpassing traditional approaches in humanitarian relief work based on the idea of providing stakeholders with food and focusing on rallying support from the international community for the dire humanitarian situation, hunger, and famine.
Among these bright spots is what the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) is doing at the displaced persons shelter in Wad El Kabir in El Gedaref. In addition to the traditional work of providing the centers needs for tools, means, and facilities to improve the environment and health, providing preventive and educational guidance, supplying safe drinking water and transporting and storing it, the NCA focused on another aspect that would play a significant role in womens lives at the center. Instead of providing "fish," the organizations program was about teaching women how to "fish."
Zainab tells her fellow citizens, "I didnt realize my ability to master handicrafts, nor did it cross my mind before that I could use a crochet needle and its threads to make something useful. I found it difficult and complicated before I received training at the center through the organization."
The Norwegian Church Aid provided several supportive projects for the womens sector with the aim of enhancing their productive capabilities and unleashing their latent potentials. It encouraged women and girls to develop handicrafts and provided all the necessary means for this, in addition to raw materials. The organization worked on opening outlets and platforms to display their products, organized direct marketing bazaars, and provided them with club support to encourage continued production.
And here is Hajja Fatima, one of the women who didnt succumb to despair, developing her skills in making palm products, and telling her fellow citizens that she is now able to meet her needs after finding a source of income through selling her products. As for Zainab, who realized her proficiency in making decorations, she produced meticulously crafted handbags and became one of the trainers of those products at the center.
Volunteer humanitarian and relief work can make a difference in the lives of many displaced and refugee individuals and in their future if the majority of it is directed towards educating stakeholders and involving them in production courses instead of relying solely on providing them with food. These are the materials that donor organizations seek funding to provide, and they are also susceptible to theft and distribution in markets as usually happens.
