I am standing in front of the borehole well, waiting for the clicking sound of my camera. But there is no sound. The CARE engineer has just explained how ground water is pumped up and then distributed to water stations. We are wandering around Dagahaley, one of the three refugee camps in Dadaab. A photographer working for a newspaper is gathering images of how a refugee camp works. But now as we stand at the borehole I feel yesterday’s long hours creeping up on me: my camera battery has obviously run out, plus I forgot my pencil and notebook on the desk. But there are solutions to these minor problems: The photographer lends me a pen and I use the back of my permission papers for the camp to take notes. In fact, I am starting to like my day without a camera.

dadaab from above. Up to now more than 420.000 people live here. (Photo: CARE/Wilke)

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Early morning in Dadaab, a nice breeze announces a day that will most likely not be too hot. Outside of the CARE canteen, people are scattered at tables under trees, taking their breakfast. CARE’s 270 members of staff live and work in so-called compounds, one in each of the three refugee camps of Dadaab, one in the main part of town, attached to the compounds of UN agencies and other aid organizations.

Theresiah Nthiani works in Dadaab in the field education since 1999. (Photo: CARE/Wilke)

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Dadaab, Blog 2, August 12^th, 2011

The realities of a refugee camp are hard to explain to the outside world. Many people think of Dadaab as a fenced-in area, overcrowded with tents, and people lining up for assistance. Some of this is true, to a certain extent. But Dadaab has grown for over 20 years now, and developed into an almost urban settlement of huge dimensions.

You can see the relief on the face of the father arrived safely in Dadaab. (Photo: CARE/Wilke)

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“It is unfortunate that the rains have decided to not fall for the last two years.” The Kenyan man sitting next to me on the plane to Nairobi has a very poetic choice of language, which makes for a rather stark contrast when you consider what he refers to: His country and the whole region are in the middle of a humanitarian crisis triggered by a severe drought, which is affecting almost 11 million people. And yes, some parts of this region have not seen rainfall in two years. My neighbor continues: “It is all about water. If you don’t have water, you cannot raise animals. And without animals… well, that is their life insurance.”

CARE distributes food and other relief items at the reception centre of Dagahaley camp (Photo: CARE/Wilke)

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By Chandara Tith.

“Is this really my last week in Germany?” I almost can’t believe that time is flying so quickly.

I was given a chance to work in Berlin. To see the different view and culture, I absorb good things to get myself improved. (Photo: Chandara Tith)

Working with CARE, I realized now, has helped me to develop my personal life experience while living in a foreign country. Also, I improved my academic performance in an international working place setting.

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By Chandara Tith.

Today I am going to Berlin.

Me in Berlin. I spent a whole day on my bike, visiting as many places as possible. (Photo: tourist)

It was an awaited opportunity for me since I knew that I will go there. I went to the train station an hour earlier just to understand how the train system works. Luckily, it was not that complex as I expected. When I sat on the train and it started to move, my heart was beating fast. I was on board in a high-speed train for the first time in life!

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By Chandara Tith.

“I am Powerful!”  What does it mean? Is it a political action? No, it is a new brand of CARE, a campaign that put the focus on women`s empowerment.

The CARE campaign "I am powerful" portrais women from different contries. Here a Cambodian woman shows that with her vegetable garden she can feed the family. (Photo:CARE Australia)

It really caught my attention. Since the beginning of my internship, I saw it many times, both on the CARE website and in many information leaflets.

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By Chandara Tith

I have never imagined how advanced the media in Germany is.

I was trying to experience in the WDR TV studio to see how I look if I appear on TV. (Photo: Sina Stach)

I was trained to be a professional journalist by German teachers. In my university in Phnom Penh I used media equipment made in Germany, but I have never imagined how enchanting the real technical system and the media studios in Germany are. (more…)

Von Thomas Schwarz.

The room is much too big for just one person. I  live here during my stay in Islamabad. When a Pakistani friend came to see me he said: “There would be room for more people.” He’s right.

These people have survived. They have been rescued by a boat from the flood. (Photo: CARE/Schwarz)

Thinking of the living conditions of those affected by the flood, I ask myself why I live in such a big room. I take some comfort in the thought that I travel a lot. Just to appease my guilty conscience.

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By Thomas Schwarz.

The Taliban help the victims of the floods and glorify this exploit. That’s what I read in the news.

That is the way most people in Punjab live now. (Photo: CARE/Schwarz)

Giving interviews Journalists ask me if it is correct that Islamic Taliban distribute relief goods and bless themselves for this help. I say, yes they do so. Of course they do. Everybody does, who do good deeds to others. However, is it really an important question at the moment? Should we really discuss this topic now? In my eyes: no!
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