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| Line for sticker needed to get food |
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| Getting thumb printed and receiving the sticker |
Last week I had the chance to visit the refugee's monthly food distribution site. Jacob, one of our South Sudanese surveillance officers who lives in the refugee camp, offered to show me around. The surveillance officers visit every household in the camp, (~16,000 people) over the course of a month looking for malnutrition and illness, and documenting home births and deaths. The food distribution takes place in a large field with some temporary structures on the edge of the camp. There were long lines of people and groups of people everywhere. Each family is given a refugee registration card at the transit camp they are taken to when they first enter the country and it is used to get food. The lines are all organized by family size with a separate line for each number from 1-7 and another line for those with 8 and above in the family. At the head of the line there are a couple of people examining documents, collecting thumb prints and handing out the food sticker.
Once they have the sticker there is another line to get the food--10 kilograms per person. This month they were given sorghum, CSB (corn soy blend) and cooking oil. After spending several hours under the hot sun collecting food they are now faced with trying to carry the food home. Some package it in smaller quantities and make several trips. Others pay someone, with part of their food, to help them transport it.
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| Food! |
So very real. So very mundane. So very much needful. So much bright sun, so much colorful cloth! Looks so very bright and clear and happiness seems to be so very much present in the smiles on the faces of those pictured there. 16,000 to a camp - How many camps? Interesting each household is visited and documented as to wellbeing and changes therein. We are returning to thumbprints as well — seems technology is making wonderful changes, however, iPhones access now with thumbprints and cursive is no longer taught. Thumbprints are really a very good authentification means of — yes, I am I.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this quiet view of what and how and where.