Activities in 2006
Since 2001, Peace Winds Japan has operated camps in Sierra Leone for refugees fleeing the civil war in the neighboring country of Liberia. As the stabilization of Liberia has progressed, Liberian refugees have been repatriating home. With the management of three remaining refugee camps taken over by government-related organizations of Sierra Leone, PWJ’s project in Sierra Leone was completed.
In response to a strong request by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), PWJ began management of Liberian refugee camps in Sierra Leone. In 2006, in the three camps of Bandajuma, Jimi and Taima, PWJ continued its activities to assist people in meeting their needs of daily life, including the construction of water and hygiene systems, the provision of food and other daily commodities, and the creation of support programs for vulnerable populations within the camps.
Beginning in 2004, the repatriation of refugees to Liberia has proceeded smoothly, with the approximate return of 10,000 refugees in 2006. As a result, the population of eight Liberian refugee camps, including the three camps operated by PWJ, has decreased to roughly 20,000 people, about one-third of their maximum population. In response, the United Nations (UN) is expected to stop providing assistance to the refugee camps, including food aid, within the scope of year 2007. As such, in 2006, PWJ transferred the management of the three camps within its purview to local governmental organizations.
When the civil war in Sierra Leone was at its peak, many residents left their homes in the eastern Kono District and became either refugees or internally displaced people. Since 2002, PWJ has focused its support on water, hygiene and educational issues in order to improve the living conditions for the returnees; these activities were completed in March 2006. During the four-year-long project, sixty-five wells and approximately 200 public toilets were built; additionally, public health training was implemented in order to enable residents to continue the sanitary use of these facilities. PWJ also constructed a gravity-driven water supply system - one that uses gravitation to bring water located at a higher source to a lower location, and installed eighty-nine faucets in seven villages. Furthermore, beginning in 2004, PWJ built basic schoolhouses in areas with no primary schools and provided educational support by distributing school supplies and offering supplementary classes that complied with formal education. Following the completion of PWJ’s project in Sierra Leone, local administration and UN agencies will continue to monitor these communities.
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Masatoshi Kakumen (right) checking on the conditions of the camp residents.
Local residents participating in construction of the toilets.
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