Visit to Kass Team Site - South Darfur

At the end of July I travelled to South Darfur to conduct an evaluation of the Kass Team Site and Community Policing Centre (CPC).  This time I was the team leader and brought along my counterpart from Gambia, Seringe Saidybah.  The evaluation went very well and we got to know many new Police Advisors and Nigerian military soldiers.   The unfortunate part is that I ended up getting sick the first day I was there.  I think it was the Nigerian food again……too much starch and spices for my stomach to take.  Even though it was a tough week I was able to get through it and go on patrol to 4 IDP camps in the Kass Town area.  This area is comprised of 45 IDP camps and over 129,000 IDPs.  There is not enough Police Advisors and Protection Force to carry out patrols in all these areas.  This makes it difficult to build relationships and maintain them with the IDPs when they only see you once or twice a month.  Even though this is the case the IDPs were very cooperative and welcoming to the UNAMID personnel.  It was hard to leave at the end of the week as it was a very positive experience for me.  I found a Team Site that works very hard in trying to fulfill the UNAMID mandate and wanting to make a difference.  These changes are not going to happen overnight but you can see the gradual progression and the relationship building between the IDPs and the GoS police.

This was my 5 star accommodation at the Kass Hilton.

How do you like my room at the Kass Hotel?




Here I am with my colleague Saidybah (Gambia) eating at the Nigerian Officers Mess.  Our lunch consisted of semolina and okra soup. 



This is AMIS the dog.  He has been at Kass since AMIS times (which was the African Mission in Sudan just before UNAMID).  He was run over at a young age and now he is still hanging out at the Team Site where everyone takes care of him.  It's amazing how he gets around on his two front legs.



This is the main part of the Kass Team Site.  The tent accommodations are on your left and the office buildings are on your right. 



A little volleyball and football in the evening as there is not much entertainment in these places.

After my run around the Team Site I decided to join the guys in ab workout.  As you can see they make due with whatever they have.

These are the tent accommodations for the police advisors and military. 

Inside one of the two person tents.  As you can see there is not much room. 

Just enough space for your bed and a place to cook.

Inside Haddy Barry's (Gambia) tent having a traditional Gambian meal.  As you can see you share out of one dish and eat with your hands. I love her name ...I want to keep calling her Hally Berry but Haddy has no idea who I am talking about.

I found a Starbucks in Kass.  This is my Gambian friend, Lamin, making his traditional "attaya" tea. 

On patrol in one of the IDP camps in Kass.  We stopped at one of the community centres and the Language Assistant was showing me what they use as a chalk board.  These boards are used to teach the children the Koran.

What was wonderful about patrolling in the IDP camps in Kass is that the IDP allow you to walk freely through their homes. 

We came across this one lady just sitting down in her home. Makes you realize how lucky we are with what we have.  This is all her belongings.

As we were walking through the homes many of the women and children came out to greet us. 

The female Police Advisors were invited into this families home.  Sensitization training was conducted with the women.  I had to laugh because the little boy in the white shirt was terrified of me.  Cried the entire time and his mother was trying to tell him that there was nothing to be scared about.  As you can see he is still checking me out as I am leaving their home.



As we were driving in a convoy to one of the IDP camps we came across these buses that were loaded with people inside and on top.  This would be a CPS Traffic officers dream.



I found this girl to be so adorable......I could not leave her picture out.

Interacting with the children at one of the Kass IDP camps.  There are over 45 IDP camps in this area with over 130, 000 IDPs.

Children from the IDP camps coming to greet the Nigerian Protection Force



Just leaving one of the IDP camps.  I love how colourful the women are in their traditional tobs.



Tires and bicycle wheels are some of the only toys that the children have to play with in the IDP camps. 

Visiting one of the IDP camps. As you can see the women and children come out of their homes to greet us.

Looking at one of boards that is used to teach children the Koran.

The children cannot get enough of the camera.

While walking through one of the IDP camps we came across this little girl who wanted to greet us.

The Auditing and Internal Evaluation Team out on patrol in Kass.

After every patrol I like to get a photo with the Protection Force or the Formed Police Units (FPU). 

In Kass the Protection Force is comprised of the Nigerian Military.



Language Assistant, Adam Musa, giving me one of the traditional "chalkboards" that they use to teach the children the Koran.  This will be such a great memory to have.



Saying goodbye to some of the Language Assistants that work with the Police Advisors in Kass. 

Final photo with the Kass Team.

Our helo just coming in for landing outside of the Kass Team Site.  As you can see the Nigerian Protection Force are surrounding the landing pad for our safety.

We made it onto the helo and made our way back to Nyala.  On our way back we stopped at two more locations in South Darfur.  One of the locations was called Khor Abache.  As we flew in you could see the villages were deserted after being attacked and several of the homes (tukuls) were burnt to the ground.   It was horrible to see and I felt so helpless.