Logistics Coordination Unit KASS LOCALITY MISSION REPORT (NFIS / ES SECTOR) Date(s): 20 to 22 February 2011 Returnees in Kass Locality / February 2011 Location(s): WFP LCU Participant(s): Duty Station: Lead Agency: Other Participating Agencies: Sectors represented Security Concerns: Mode of Travel: Kass locality Diana Chikuwa, Yusuf Bilal, Ahmed Muez. Nyala & El Geneina OCHA OCHA, WFP-LCU, WFP, UNHCR, UNICEF, IOM, WHO, UNDP, UNAMID, MoH HRA, CIS, SRCS, PODR, NCA, WV, Tearfund, NOCD, HAC, DRRC, Amel, Mo WASH & Education (UNICEF), Health (WHO), Livelihoods (UNDP), Food (WFP), Coordination (OCHA & HAC), Protection (UNHCR), Returns (IOM), NFIs / ES (WFP LCU,NCA) Phase 4 (UNAMID Escort provided) Driving
Objectives of Mission: Assess needs of the population Find out priority needs and basic services available & gaps Find out number of returnees and type of Assistance Expected Outcomes: Number of returnees and returnee sites to be verified Determination of assistance required for the returnees Information gathering by other Agency participants Methodology: Mainly group discussions and interviews with community representatives and where possible, visit to individual HHs Previous Missions to This Location (if applicable) WFP-LCU assessment mission to Tabafitu in January 2010 for the returns initial assessment. Day 1 of Mission Attended a pre-departure debriefing at the OCHA Nyala Office Departed for Kass at 1000 hours and on arrival in Kass at 1120 hours, the InterAgency Team proceeded to the UNAMID camp where a meeting was held with the UNAMID Site Commander to brief them on the mission objectives and to discuss logistical arrangements of security escorts and accommodation Another de-briefing session was held for humanitarians at the WFP Kass Office for the benefit of colleagues based in Kass locality who were also joining the InterAgency Assessment Team Day 1 - Villages visited: Dawis Village: Interviews with the Sheikhs at Dawis School revealed the following: Population of Dawis is 1213 HHs in total and 97 HHs reside in the mother village Dawis There are 19 cluster villages around Dawis and before the displacements occurred, there were 1408 HHs The whole population was displaced in March 2010 to Kass due to tribal fighting Most families started returning to Dawis in June 2010 and the majority of families have returned Because the village was attacked, most HHs lost their personal belongings as some were looted Population received NFI support (full basket) when they were displaced and of the items received, only cooking sets remain as the community leaders stated that the rest of the NFIs are no longer in good condition particularly plastic sheets which were destroyed by the sun There are no IDPs in the villages and no mention of NFI needs although a few HHs visited by the NFI / ES Team highlighted that they are in need of jerry cans and water storage facilities Security situation has improved though there are incidents of banditry (in order of priority)
Limo Village Interviews with the Sheikhs, Community Leadership, the Imam & Head of School revealed the following: Population of Limo is 12,000 individuals (estimated numbers) in total and 1000 HHs reside in the mother village Limo There are 6 cluster villages around Limo The whole population was displaced in March 2010 to Kass due to tribal fighting Most families started returning to Limo end of July 2010 because they had no means of livelihoods in Kass Limo received some IDPs from areas west of Kass after the tribal clashes (no number provided for the IDPs in Limo as they were never registered) The IDPs who came to Limo are still in the village and were assisted by residents who provided fencing and rakubas for their shelter The population received NFI support when they were displaced but their plastic sheets have since been destroyed. For their shelter, the population uses grass gathered after cultivation to thatch their roofs No mention of NFI needs although Meeting with Sheikhs / Community Leaders Kass/ February 2011 Talha Al Beida Village Went to this location to collect GPS Coordinates no assessment conducted by InterAgency Team in this location NB: The people of Talha Al Beida attended the Dawis meeting together with Dawis population The population in Talha Al Beida village comprises 87 HHs and the community leaders prioritized the following items and services:
Day 2 Villages visited Kilmo Village Left Kass for the field at 9:15am Kilmo is 7km from Kass and the Interagency Team arrived in Kilmo at 9:35am The IA Team met with the community leadership headed by Sheikh Abdul bagi Adam Yousif Population in Kilmo is 153 HHs in total and there are 9 villages in total The whole population comprising 1500 HHs was displaced in August 2010 to Kass due to tribal clashes between the Misseriya and Relegate 114 HHs were burnt down during the tribal clashes Some families returned in November 2010 and close to 1400 HHs are still in Kass in Adawajin and Savannah camps and some families are in Kass Town Kilmo village received 42 IDPs from Helat Jemeza and Babamusa The population received jerry cans only when they were displaced in August 2010 The population s main NFI needs are sleeping mats, plastic sheets and blankets Some of the HHs have not returned because they have no shelter and also in the camps they have access to food and water The security situation is ok although there is need for a police post / presence to ensure the rule of law Preconditions for HHs in Kass to return to Kilmo NFIs For the returnees already in Kilmo, the priority needs are (because the displacement occurred during the cultivation period) NFIs for the IDPs whom came from Helat Jemeza village (42 HHs) and other HHs who are living in empty houses LCU staff Yusuf Bilal gathering information on the returns in Kass/ February 2011
Nyyama Village Left Kilmo at 1045hours and arrived in Nyyma at 1215 hours. Initially the mission to the village had been cancelled after waiting for half an hour at the check point because OCHA had been informed that there was no one to take the InterAgency mission to the particular village. Eventually the point-person arrived and the Interagency Team departed at 1255 hours and arrived at the location which is 5kms from Nyyma at 1303 hours. The meeting was held with one community leader in an open space close to the Popular Defense Forces Post Guard Interviews with the Community Leader revealed the following: There are 160 families living in the area As a result of the tribal fighting, the population was displaced to Kutum in North Darfur No NFI support was provided to the population when they were displaced The displaced families returned when they heard that there were services to be provided to returnees The population s main NFI needs are jerry cans, plastic sheets and blankets NFIs Tabafitu Village Tabafitu is 17km from Kass and the InterAgency Team arrived in the area at 1515 hours During the introductions and heir opening remarks, OCHA highlighted that this was a follow-up visit to the one conducted 2 weeks earlier and the InterAgency was on mission to gather information on the number of HHs and if these had changed The name of the village had been changed from Tabafitu to Dar el Salam by the Wali during a VIP visit comprising UN Agencies and Government officials two weeks back Tabafitu consists of a cluster of 16 villages The whole population was displaced in March 2010 to Kass due to tribal clashes Two weeks ago there were 737 returnee HHs and now there are 915 HHs 50% of HHs received NFIs when they were displaced to Kass About 300 500 HHs are still in Kass in the camps because their children are in school Families returned because of lack of services in the areas they were displaced to and the security situation in Tabafitu has improved The most urgent NFI needs are: Plastic Sheets Bamboos for construction Jerry cans Blankets NB: NCA held discussions with a group of women and during the course of discussion, the women highlighted that the most critical NFIs for them are cooking sets as they lost their belongings during the clashes Hashaba Village Population of Hashaba village is 1000 HHs comprising 3883 individuals Hashaba has 7 cluster villages in total The whole population was displaced in March 2010 to Kass due to tribal and they returned in May 2010 All HHs returned in May 2010 because the clashes had ended and the Government requested the population to return No aid was provided by the humanitarian community to the families when they were displaced No urgent need of NFIs mentioned although the Sheikhs highlighted that during the rainy season, the population will require plastic sheets for their homes, clinic and the school
Day 3: Village visited Al Heleila Village Population in Al Heleila is currently 350 HHs and there were 9 satellite villages before the attack and tribal clashes in March 2010 The population was displaced to an area North of Kass where they were again attacked and they moved to Kass Town with their relatives When the population was displaced to an area North of Kass, an Agency came to do an assessment for NFI needs but before NFIs could be provided, they were attacked and displaced from the area they had settled in All 350 HHs returned ten days ago and the population decided that all HHs should reside in the mother village and the Sheikhs are expecting an additional 150 HHs to return to Al Heleila from Maramandi, Beida and Kass NFIs Ministry of Planning support Children in the returnee village of Al Heleila/ February 2011 Recommendations: Conduct verification of the returnees to determine actual HHs in need of NFIs as well the type of NFIs to be provided (Needs-based assessment) For Dawis village which in need of water storage facilities and jerry cans, we recommend that WASH Sector provides the storage facilities and Jerry cans Periodic monitoring of returnees should be conducted by Partners and other stakeholders to ensure humanitarians have an updated list of returnee HHs