Woking charity Ockenden International has
been to Sudan to explore ways it can help refugees of the country's bitter
civil war.
Jake Phelan, a research consultant for
Ockenden based in Constitution Hill, has just returned from a two-month
fact-finding mission to Africa's largest country.
The country has been in a civil war for many years, which has displaced millions of people but when a peace treaty was signed in January, many refugees began to return.
Jake travelled to Western Equatoria in the south of the country, which is under the authority of the Sudan People's Liberation Army. He said: "I was there to study the impact of the war on people and up to 4.5 million were displaced because of the conflict. The peace agreement has had a significant impact on the area with those displaced returning." During his research he spoke to residents, teachers and health workers and people returning from exile.
He said: "I was finding out what they wanted to see happen in the region and the problems they thought they would face in the future.
The views represented in this article are those of the writer not Ockenden International's.
