4 Jan 2013

DR CONGO / HUMANITARIAN

A lull in violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo last month permitted UNICEF and its partners to distribute much needed relief kits to people trapped in a cycle of repeated displacements. It was the largest distribution of household items in North Kivu in recent years. UNICEF

Posted at: January 4, 2013 4:55 pm

Duration: 04:19

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STORY: DR CONGO / HUMANITARIAN
TRT:  4.19
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SWAHILI / NATS

DATELINE: 22 DECEMBER 2012, DR CONGO

SHOTLIST:

1.	Various shots, displaced people waiting for supply distribution
2.	SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Febe Bushu, Displaced Person: 
"We left the town of Pinga in September this year. But when we got there fighting sparked, we left to come here."
3.	 Various shots, distribution site
4.	SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Febe Bushu, Displaced Person: 
"We were staying with neighbours, but there was nothing to eat there and even to get water we had to buy it. So my family and I left for this camp."
5.	Med shot, inside Febe's makeshift tent children and her daughter peeling beans
6.	Close up, beans
7.	Med shot, women at Mugunga 3 site packing their kits
8.	Med shot, women waiting in line at Bulengo site
9.	SOUNDBITE (English) Ulrich Wagner, UNICEF Emergency Specialist:
"We are in the rainy season, as you can see it is very cloudy, so it has rained today it will rain during the night people need to be sheltered especially children who are prone to easily get infections."
10.	 Various shots, distribution point at camp
11.	SOUNDBITE (English) Tariq Riebl, Oxfam Humanitarian Programme Coordinator:
"Oxfam is part of a bit multi-agency NFI distribution today, organized principally by UNICEF. We are distributing each household a kit of basic items such as blankets tents, cooking utensils, things of that nature; basic items that they need in order to have a household that can be self-sufficient."
12.	 Med shot, Lac Vert site where IRC staff registers displaced people
13.	 Med shot, two staff from Handicap International and IOM coordinating the operation
14.	Med shot, humanitarian staff calling out people's names
15.	Med shot, women with her child on her back packing her kit
16.	Wide shot, Bulengo site with line up kits and buckets
17.	Wide shot, the essential kits in Bulengo site
18.	Wide shot, families packing their kit
19.	SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Febe Bushu, Displaced Person: 
"The tarp will help cover my tent. I'll be protected from the sun and I won't have to hear the noise from outside. Cooking pans also mean I don't have to wander around looking for something to eat and that's really important."
20.	Close up, Febe walking to her makeshift tent with her kits on her head
21.	Various , Febe at her tent

STORYLINE:

A long line of expectant men, women and children is growing at Bulengo displaced persons site.

An upsurge in violence in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has forced over 130,000 people to flee their homes to seek safety in displaced persons' sites like Bulengo or with host families.

Sixty-four-year-old Febe lives in the site with her two daughters and her infant grandchild. They walked for nearly two weeks before reaching Goma, the provincial capital city.

SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Febe Bushu, Displaced Person: 
"We left the town of Pinga in September this year. But when we got there fighting sparked, we left to come here."

Internally displaced persons are often trapped in a cycle of multiple displacements as risks of conflict and violence advance toward their places of refuge or as resources dwindle.

Once in Goma, Febe and her family suffered the same fate. Their host family who struggled to get by couldn't support them.

SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Febe Bushu, Displaced Person: 
"We were staying with neighbours, but there was nothing to eat there and even to get water we had to buy it. So my family and I left for this camp."

Feeding oneself and a small family with nothing to cook with, is one of the many challenges displaced persons have to face. The rainy season and the fact that most people fled with little or no belongings add to the trauma of displacement.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ulrich Wagner, UNICEF Emergency Specialist:
"We are in the rainy season, as you can see it is very cloudy, so it has rained today it will rain during the night people need to be sheltered especially children who are prone to easily get infections."

Continuing insecurity, attacks on the population and looting by armed assailants hindered mass distribution of much needed relief kits for weeks.

But a lull in violence in recent days has made it possible for UNICEF and its partners to distribute relief kits of ten essential items including plastic sheeting, blankets and clothing. The operation, a logistical conundrum, was the largest distribution of household items to occur in recent years in the North Kivu.

SOUNDBITE (English) Tariq Riebl, Oxfam Humanitarian Programme Coordinator:
"Oxfam is part of a bit multi-agency NFI (non food item) distribution today, organized principally by UNICEF. We are distributing each household a kit of basic items such as blankets tents, cooking utensils, things of that nature; basic items that they need in order to have a household that can be self-sufficient."

Distribution of essential household kits started on 21 December. Collaboration between 13 local and international NGOs and 4 United Nations sister agencies was decisive in expediting the distribution.

SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Febe Bushu, Displaced Person: 
"The tarp will help cover my tent. I'll be protected from the sun and I won't have to hear the noise from outside. Cooking pans also mean I don't have to wander around looking for something to eat and that's really important."

The kit Febe's family received and many other displaced persons will most certainly alleviate the anguish of being far from home and sleeping under the open sky.

However, the most pressing concern over internally displaced population remains protection, particularly at night when most incidents happen.