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Credit lineMerlijn Stoffels, Netherlands Red Cross Society
Existing DescriptionWhen conflict erupted in South Sudan in December 2013, hundreds of thousands of people were forced from their homes when armed attackers came to their villages and torched houses.
Minkamen quickly became the biggest settlement site expanding from a small village of 7,000 to a town of over 90,000, with new arrivals coming every day.
Getting supplies to these people is difficult; the poor state of the road means it takes two days for a truck to get there, even though the distance is only 150 kilometres.
Upon arrival, it soon becomes clear how difficult life is for these families. There are puddles and mud everywhere. The hard, clay subsoil makes it hard for the water to drain away. Our ATV gets stuck. Trucks get stuck. And this is even before the rainy season has really begun. The Red Cross is busily preparing for the rainy season. About 300 toilets will be raised above large, dug-in containers. This is to prevent the toilets from overflowing, which would result in excrement running out among all the temporary huts, with all the hazards that would bring, such as outbreaks of diarrhoea. This can be deadly, especially for children.
