Chad - Long Journey, Precious Gift |
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January 30th, 2007 - 11:53AM |
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Photo: Melissa Winkler/The IRC International Rescue Committee emergency communications coordinator Melissa Winkler was in Bahai, Chad, last week to document IRC programs assisting Sudanese refugees and displaced Chadians. January 25 - It’s winter in the Chadian desert—dramatically different than the last time I was here in April of 2006, one of the hottest months of the year. I have to admit, at the time, I hardly noticed the scorching temperatures. I was far more focused on our guests: Actor George Clooney and his journalist father, Nick. Several weeks earlier the Clooneys were introduced to the International Rescue Committee. They told us that they wanted to learn more about the Darfur crisis, to speak to its victims, and to relay their stories to anyone willing to listen. We were ready to help and I was charged with organizing their trip, which ultimately took us to IRC field sites in southern Sudan and northeastern Chad where our teams were aiding thousands of people who escaped the turmoil in Darfur. I’ve yet to meet a single person who fled Darfur without a deeply disturbing and heart-wrenching story of how they came to be uprooted. The Clooneys heard many of these tales and returned home activists. George has had numerous high profile interviews and appearances since then, while Nick has taken a more grassroots approach, speaking with media, but also at universities, places of worship and community centers. It was after one of these speaking engagements a few months ago at the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, that a woman introduced herself to Nick Clooney and relayed a message from her friend Leticia Jennings. Ms. Jennings, Nick learned, is not in good health and in the time she spends at home, makes patchwork quilts that she donates to people in need. She was hoping, Nick later told me, that he might be able to find a way to deliver some of her quilts to refugee children from Darfur. Nick said he would do his best and that the IRC might be able to help. Several weeks ago, the lovely Nina Clooney (Nick’s wife, George’s mom) called me to say that she had received a box of baby quilts from Ms. Jennings and would send it to me. As I was planning this trip to Chad, I assured her that I would deliver the blankets to mothers with young children who come to our medical clinic at the Oure Cassoni refugee camp for vaccinations and exams. Today, as harsh and bitterly cold winds whipped through the camp, I’m happy to say that I was able to do just that. As I handed each mother one of Ms. Jennings' beautifully sewn quilts, I explained to them that there is a woman far away who heard about their plight, who is concerned about their safety and the future of their children and that she made the blankets to keep their babies warm at night. The Sudanese women looked at me somewhat incredulously, but were extraordinarily grateful and appreciative nonetheless. They wrapped their children in the blankets right away and I took some pictures. I can’t wait to send them to Ms. Jennings. Posted By: Melissa Winkler | Africa, Children & Youth, Diaries & Journals, Health, Sudan & the Darfur Crisis, _Melissa Winkler in Chad Permalink |
