Alone in Goker camp

Halima Ahmed Hissein lives alone in Goker camp. "I am nearly 80 years old, I think. I was born here and moved away when I got married but moved back when my husband died 10 years ago.

"I had four children, but two died when they were babies. Of the other two sons, one escaped to Chad with his wife and family, and one had to leave to find work.

"Now I live alone here in a deserted house. I don’t have money to buy food. Sometimes people give me food but many of my friends have left because of the war and I don't know the new people.

"I am too old to grow food. My cooking pot was stolen. My neighbour gave me an old one but it has a hole in it. The enemies stole my seven cows and ten goats.

"I am afraid they may come back and kill me"

"When they attacked, I couldn't run. Some neighbours helped me to the fields and hid me under the trees. I stayed there for four days because I was scared. I am still scared they may come back, even though I have nothing left to steal. I am afraid they may kill me.

"All I want is for this problem to be solved so that things can be normal again. If there was somebody to look after me, things might be better. I don't know if my sons will come back.

"There is no medicine here and my stomach is sick. I collect leaves and boil them to drink for medicine. People help sometimes with what little they have. Without them, I would have nothing and die."

HelpAge International's response

HelpAge International is working in West Darfur – in Goker, Sisi and Krinding – where there are large numbers of older people. The older people are especially vulnerable because they have lost their homes and their networks of support. Our work includes:

• helping to establish older people's committees to represent their needs, providing the committees with registration books, mats to sit on, and shelters where members can meet and hold training sessions
• buying mosquito nets and sleeping mats, cooking sets, blankets and household goods for distribution
• seconding a protection officer to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to enhance older people's protection rights within the agency's programme response.