Giving Displaced Families a Place to Call Home
For a family forced to leave home, finding safety is only the beginning.
They still need somewhere to sleep. Somewhere to protect their children. Somewhere to store the few belongings they were able to carry with them.
In Sudan, many internally displaced people had been living in schools and public institutions. But when the Ministry of Education decided to reopen schools, displaced families needed to move again.
This created an urgent need for alternative accommodation.
In response, ARAHA provided emergency shelter assistance in Sudan by supporting the installation of shelters for 202 displaced families, representing 1,250 individuals, at the Al-Karama IDPs Center in Eastern Kassala Town.
The project provided families with dedicated shelters constructed using local materials, helping improve their living conditions after displacement.
Why Was Emergency Shelter Assistance Needed in Sudan?
Many internally displaced families in Sudan had been staying in schools and other public institutions after being forced to leave their homes.
These locations provided temporary space for people seeking safety. However, they were not intended to serve as permanent accommodation for displaced families.
When the Ministry of Education decided to reopen schools, the Kassala State government began searching for alternative locations where displaced people could be accommodated.
This created an urgent humanitarian need.
Families who had already experienced displacement were now required to move again.
The solution was to establish a dedicated site for displaced families at the Al-Karama IDPs Center, also known as the Onion Factory, in Eastern Kassala Town.
Organizations were consulted to help establish shelters using local materials. The aim was to create shelters that were affordable, practical, and capable of accommodating families in different weather conditions.
How Did ARAHA Provide Emergency Shelter Assistance in Sudan?
The project was implemented through a series of coordinated steps involving local authorities, humanitarian partners, contractors, and the displaced families themselves.
Registering the Displaced Families
The first step was coordination with the local authorities responsible for internally displaced people.
The families who were expected to move from the schools to the designated camp were registered before relocation.
A total of 202 families were registered for the project.
This process helped establish the number of families requiring shelter before the relocation took place.
Coordinating with IOM for Building Materials
ARAHA coordinated with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to arrange the required building materials.
Once the materials were received, they were transported to the designated shelter site.
This coordination was an important part of the implementation process, ensuring that the materials could reach the location where the shelters were to be installed.
Installing the Shelters
ARAHA then signed a contract with a contractor to install the shelters.
The installation process was completed in two weeks.
After the shelters were installed, the families were relocated to the camp and received their designated shelters.
This allowed the families to move from schools and public institutions into a dedicated settlement designed to accommodate displaced households.
Who Benefited from the Emergency Shelter Project in Kassala?
The project provided shelter assistance to 202 families, representing a total of 1,250 individuals.
These families were among the internally displaced people who needed to relocate from schools and public institutions after those facilities were required for their original purpose.
For the families involved, the project provided more than a physical structure.
It provided a designated place where they could live after displacement.
The transition from shared institutional spaces into individual family shelters helped create improved living conditions and gave families a greater sense of stability.
What Were the Shelters Designed to Provide?
The project focused on providing emergency shelter assistance through shelters made from local materials.
The shelters were intended to be:
- Suitable for accommodating displaced families
- Constructed using locally available materials
- Capable of providing protection in different weather conditions
- Suitable for emergency humanitarian assistance
- Installed at a designated site for displaced families
The project also included the provision and construction of emergency shelter support as part of the relocation process.
What Challenges Did the Shelter Installation Project Face?
Humanitarian shelter projects often face challenges related to costs, security, logistics, and the scale of need.
This project was no exception.
One of the challenges was an unexpected increase in installation costs.
The number of families in need was also large, creating additional pressure on the available resources.
Security restrictions created further difficulties during the implementation process.
These challenges affected the process of delivering shelter assistance, but the project was ultimately implemented and the shelters were installed.
The families were then relocated to the camp where they received their shelters.
How Did Emergency Shelter Assistance Improve Life for Displaced Families?
The most direct impact of the project was that families were able to access proper shelter.
For people who had already been displaced from their homes, having a dedicated place to live represented an important improvement in their daily lives.
The project contributed to improved quality of life for the beneficiaries.
It also helped facilitate economic recovery by providing families with a more stable living environment.
The beneficiaries expressed happiness upon finding shelter.
This response reflects the importance of emergency shelter assistance during displacement.
When families are forced to leave their homes, a shelter can provide more than protection from the elements. It can create a place where families can begin to restore a sense of stability.
Why Emergency Shelters Matter for Displaced Families in Sudan
Displacement can disrupt nearly every aspect of daily life.
Families may lose access to their homes, possessions, communities, and normal routines.
When they arrive at a new location, their immediate needs include safety, food, water, healthcare, and shelter.
Emergency shelters help address one of the most fundamental of these needs: having a place to live.
The project in Eastern Kassala demonstrates the importance of creating dedicated shelter solutions when displaced families can no longer remain in temporary public facilities.
Rather than leaving families without an alternative when schools reopened, the shelter project helped create a new location for them.
For the 202 families supported through the project, this meant moving into shelters at the Al-Karama IDPs Center.
From Temporary Displacement to a More Stable Place to Live
The families supported through this project had already experienced the disruption of displacement.
Many had been living in schools and public institutions while seeking safety.
When those facilities needed to reopen, another transition became necessary.
The installation of shelters at the Al-Karama IDPs Center helped provide an alternative.
The process required registration, coordination, material sourcing, transportation, construction, and relocation.
It also required navigating increased costs and security restrictions.
But in the end, 202 families were able to move into dedicated shelters.
For the people who received them, these shelters represented a practical response to an urgent humanitarian need.
ARAHA’s Emergency Shelter Assistance in Sudan
ARAHA’s work in Eastern Kassala reflects the importance of responding to the practical needs of displaced communities.
The project did not only focus on identifying families in need.
It involved coordinating with local authorities, working with humanitarian partners, arranging materials, transporting supplies, contracting installation work, and supporting the relocation of families.
The result was a completed shelter site serving 1,250 individuals from 202 families.
In humanitarian response, the impact of a project can often be seen in the difference between what families faced before assistance and what became possible afterward.
Before the project, families faced relocation from schools and public institutions.
After the project, they had access to dedicated shelters at the Al-Karama IDPs Center.
The beneficiaries expressed their happiness at finding shelter.
And for families living through displacement, having a place to live is a significant step toward greater stability.