Damboa the Land of Conquest Part (11)
IPD Camp Damboa! (11)
Romeon Okwo
The camp was five minutes drive form my base,we were converged in a Sienna bus to the Main Camp gate,On reaching the camp you immediately perceived the humanitarian crisis.
At the gate,you see men of the Nigeria Mobile Force and Solider's causally on singlet with gun on the chest,displaced children running round,some climb the trees within in a rush play to express themselves,you also see women struggling to get water from a mobile tank which perharp supply the water within the specific time
as usual,some of the children barely tell what they are passing through except the bite of hungers and others life necessities that may troubles them but as you walk round,they rush at you while others stared to get the assistance from you.
The Camp is a jam of humanitarian needs,from one tenth to others,you see poor parents with younger men who have eventually lost all their livelihood and are just waiting for any form of intervention.
The looks on the faces tell you,they is absolute need for help and a wish for a source of financial freedom,they need liberty and the desire to go back to their respective homes to become responsible parents to their daily needs rather than depend on the support of donors and good hearted Nigerians for their live.
As you approach the Learning Centre's built by a humanitarian organizations to served as temporary learning centre(TLC), you see kids which had comes out to be teach but the space did not look well for the children to get the desire learning but it was better than none at all.
Children climb one and others while the adults ones tried to provide the teaching as the TLC teachers are said to be done with their job contact with the donors agencies as many are on break awaiting their contact renewal.
the Camp was a large space as we could not trek down the lengths as vehicle were not allow to go in,from the main Camp,we move to the Unity Camp,hundred meter apart.
Although,the Unity Camp was not as large as the Main Camp but it's also contain an unimaginable stretch of human populations, you could see all kind of human needs on the face of these Nigerians.The Camp style of housing could not curtail the heat as the people came out in their numbers to the Trees Shade to get a fresh air as the situation remain so pitiable especially for the children.
The stories are almost same ,from adoption cases to parents that had be slaughter by the insurgency.It was a pitiable experience as you want to help but you don't know who your help could real go,almost every body need a help no matter how little it can go.
Thank to most of the humanitarian workers especially one Inter-community Social Development organization (IDS Nigeria) and others who are always on hand to rendered one or others form of services but at the moment,it all seem the people are on their own as some of the International humanitarian Organisation office were not open,I sort to know from one my guide,and I was told ,they don't come every day's.
The camp were sort of experience to keep as the encounter with the IDPs help one to reflect deeply on the need for political stability, you see Nigerians who are refuges in their country because of crisis,they knew nothing of but
gradually becoming settlers in the land.
As it seem,these people going back to their various homes will take decades if government is not committed to do the needful.
Damboa town is a shadow of itself, you see Military men moving with gun as if they were in war front as you can not predict the next second .
The roads are deserted as the only mean of moving is by a bicycle or tricycle which are just handful as most only drive only within the diameter of the town.
while those that have cars can only move not less than ten kilometer within the town Centre as the road to Maiduguri and Sambisa is condone by Army.
One of the residents who spoke with me on anonymous based told me that,"they are tired of the situations and they don't know when the situation will be over.According to him, "you can do any things,even the salary I depend on hardly come from Maiduguri on time,so what can one used to feed as you can not go far way to the bush to farm because of the Boko haram.
Damboa is in terrible need of help as the people,who live outside the camps have no any form of social service,no functioning hospital or health center,the electric poles wire are cut off,schools burned down,no essential services of any kind,the only private functioning school I saw was operated by an individual,the school was just for kids,and it is operated in disguied manners,you never it was a school till you go inside,they was no any junior or senior secondary school sighted anywhere,the future of this young boys and girls will be jeopardized if urgent steps are not taking.
it will take years to bring the famous town of Damboa back to live,a once peaceful land,as you stroll down the town,you still fine many of its harvest.Damboa is reach in fruits,surya and plenty delicacies, just about thirty kilometer to Chibok town and forty kilometer to the famous Sambisa forest,Damboa can be referred as the table land of the Sahel with flat land spreading thousand of square kilometers to the Sahel dessert .
Romeon Okwo
The camp was five minutes drive form my base,we were converged in a Sienna bus to the Main Camp gate,On reaching the camp you immediately perceived the humanitarian crisis.
At the gate,you see men of the Nigeria Mobile Force and Solider's causally on singlet with gun on the chest,displaced children running round,some climb the trees within in a rush play to express themselves,you also see women struggling to get water from a mobile tank which perharp supply the water within the specific time
as usual,some of the children barely tell what they are passing through except the bite of hungers and others life necessities that may troubles them but as you walk round,they rush at you while others stared to get the assistance from you.
The Camp is a jam of humanitarian needs,from one tenth to others,you see poor parents with younger men who have eventually lost all their livelihood and are just waiting for any form of intervention.
The looks on the faces tell you,they is absolute need for help and a wish for a source of financial freedom,they need liberty and the desire to go back to their respective homes to become responsible parents to their daily needs rather than depend on the support of donors and good hearted Nigerians for their live.
As you approach the Learning Centre's built by a humanitarian organizations to served as temporary learning centre(TLC), you see kids which had comes out to be teach but the space did not look well for the children to get the desire learning but it was better than none at all.
Children climb one and others while the adults ones tried to provide the teaching as the TLC teachers are said to be done with their job contact with the donors agencies as many are on break awaiting their contact renewal.
the Camp was a large space as we could not trek down the lengths as vehicle were not allow to go in,from the main Camp,we move to the Unity Camp,hundred meter apart.
Although,the Unity Camp was not as large as the Main Camp but it's also contain an unimaginable stretch of human populations, you could see all kind of human needs on the face of these Nigerians.The Camp style of housing could not curtail the heat as the people came out in their numbers to the Trees Shade to get a fresh air as the situation remain so pitiable especially for the children.
The stories are almost same ,from adoption cases to parents that had be slaughter by the insurgency.It was a pitiable experience as you want to help but you don't know who your help could real go,almost every body need a help no matter how little it can go.
Thank to most of the humanitarian workers especially one Inter-community Social Development organization (IDS Nigeria) and others who are always on hand to rendered one or others form of services but at the moment,it all seem the people are on their own as some of the International humanitarian Organisation office were not open,I sort to know from one my guide,and I was told ,they don't come every day's.
The camp were sort of experience to keep as the encounter with the IDPs help one to reflect deeply on the need for political stability, you see Nigerians who are refuges in their country because of crisis,they knew nothing of but
gradually becoming settlers in the land.
As it seem,these people going back to their various homes will take decades if government is not committed to do the needful.
Damboa town is a shadow of itself, you see Military men moving with gun as if they were in war front as you can not predict the next second .
The roads are deserted as the only mean of moving is by a bicycle or tricycle which are just handful as most only drive only within the diameter of the town.
while those that have cars can only move not less than ten kilometer within the town Centre as the road to Maiduguri and Sambisa is condone by Army.
One of the residents who spoke with me on anonymous based told me that,"they are tired of the situations and they don't know when the situation will be over.According to him, "you can do any things,even the salary I depend on hardly come from Maiduguri on time,so what can one used to feed as you can not go far way to the bush to farm because of the Boko haram.
Damboa is in terrible need of help as the people,who live outside the camps have no any form of social service,no functioning hospital or health center,the electric poles wire are cut off,schools burned down,no essential services of any kind,the only private functioning school I saw was operated by an individual,the school was just for kids,and it is operated in disguied manners,you never it was a school till you go inside,they was no any junior or senior secondary school sighted anywhere,the future of this young boys and girls will be jeopardized if urgent steps are not taking.
it will take years to bring the famous town of Damboa back to live,a once peaceful land,as you stroll down the town,you still fine many of its harvest.Damboa is reach in fruits,surya and plenty delicacies, just about thirty kilometer to Chibok town and forty kilometer to the famous Sambisa forest,Damboa can be referred as the table land of the Sahel with flat land spreading thousand of square kilometers to the Sahel dessert .
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