NCA Personnel Appointed to Lead ACT/Caritas Relief Operation in Darfur
An international ecumenical relief effort in Darfur by Action By Churches Together (ACT) and Caritas will see new leadership as Bjørg Mide from Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) assumes responsibility for the operation
An international ecumenical relief effort in Darfur by Action By Churches Together (ACT) and Caritas will see new leadership as Bjørg Mide from Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) assumes responsibility for the operation estimated to have cost around $25 million (USD) by Dec. 2005.
According to NCA, this operation is the first time that the two global networks, ACT and Caritas have worked together, providing a response to the needs of the people of Darfur of unprecedented proportions.
Since 2003, 1.6 million people have been forced to flee their homes and up to 70,000 people have been killed in the violence that has ravaged the province in West Sudan. The number of internally displaced persons in Sudan has almost doubled in the last months, and reports claim the fighting is continuous.
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"The world’s attention has long been directed towards Darfur," said Mide. "The situation is still precarious and it is important that the international community maintains its focus on the humanitarian catastrophe, both in terms of getting help to the victims and working towards a lasting solution to the conflict."
As NCA’s section manager, Mide has considerable international experience with both long-term development and emergency relief work as she has been responsible for relief work in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia including Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mide has also been responsible for Norwegian Church Aid’s work in Iraq since the outbreak of war there in March 2003 and has also spent several years living in Sudan.
"I fear the situation we are now faced with will continue for a long time," Mide said. "Many of the thousands of internally displaced people have lost their villages’ crops, and now must rely fully on aid if they are to survive this period.
"We are working in as many areas as possible and are trying to provide assistance with water, sanitation and health and by distributing food and emergency items such as tarpaulins, cooking pans and other things," Mide added. "This is a great challenge and it will be fascinating to be part of what is turning into a giant ecumenical undertaking."
Mide is to travel to Sudan in the early New Year to assume responsibility for the ACT/Caritas relief operation in Darfur.
