Sunday 9 October 2016

Central Africa Republic and meeting the Fellows of Mandela Washington Fellowship

I have arrived in Central Africa Republic and have been so very well received by a group of young professionals, all Fellows of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Programme, a flagship of Barack Obama,  Meeting Janet has been a heart-warming experience and I love her enthusiasm for the project.
We were taken out to a Refugee camp where up to 10,000 people who have lost everything in the war, homes, land and all their possessions, are being camped. Some have found family to return to.








This refugee camp now gives tent dwelling to about 950 families and there were about 2000 children.
The hope is that they can re-establish an independent life-style and are helped by being given a shelter.
What was remarkable for me to see was how a community was being formed in a peaceful surrounding, in a sense a sanctuary and yet extreme poverty, having lost everything.
I will add pics when I have a stronger WiFi line.
I have since learnt that more than half (over 2 million) of the population of CAR have been displaced and homeless due to the war.  There is a strong will to resettle and reintegrate.












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