Al Abbasi is a small camp on the outskirts of Mallit town, North Darfur. The camp currently houses IDPs and returnees, providing them with necessary services such as food, water and shelter. IOM Sudan’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) team travelled to Al Abbasi camp to conduct a biometric verification exercise of 11,783 individuals, (3,016 families) currently residing in Al Abbasi B area. 
Among those reached is Ahmed, a 62 year old man who lives in Al Abbasi camp with his 9 family members.

Due to the influx of many families like his , accommodation is insufficient and Ahmed’s house is too small to accommodate all 10 people. 
 As a result, some of his family members have to sleep outside in open areas. 

Despite his situation and the cramped living conditions, Ahmed and his family prefer their lives in Al Abbasi IDP Camp to the dangers and risks that they would have faced daily, had they remained in Hashaba village. Ahmed looks far into the distance as he recalls his days in Hashaba village, remembering his home, his neighbors, and the children playing outside. He begins to smile; a warm, soft smile. For a moment there is silence. As his gaze slowly returns to the camp, and he recalls his journey here, his smile begins to fade. 

Ahmed and his family walked for two days without any food or water. The journey was long and draining. Ahmed says his children suffered mostly from lack of water. 

“Hunger they were used to,” he remarks, as he lowers his head in shame. Ahmed fed his children roots and leaves in the hope of sustaining them until they  finally reached Al Abbasi Camp. Upon reaching the camp, the first thing Ahmed  did was to register with IOM. He had been informed by a local Sheikh (local leader) that by registering with IOM, he and his family would be eligible to receive assistance from IOM and other organizations. 
IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) is a global tool that collects information from displaced people like Ahmed, which is then shared with other organisations and Goverment of Sudan (GoS) to ensure they receive the necessary assistance. Together with the Sudan Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), IOM staff register the entire displaced population to ensure that they are immediately eligible for water, food and other life-saving assistance. In particular, the DTM collects informa-tion about very vulnerable individuals such as single parents, unaccompanied children, people with special needs and pregnant women, to make sure that they are referred to the specialized organisations that can meet their individual needs.
Ahmed was happy to find some members of the IOM registration team were from his own community. The familiarity meant he felt comfortable to ask questions. After registering, Ahmed is now happy and extremely relieved to be receiving assistance in the form of clean drinking water, food, Non Food Items (NFIs), shelter, basic health services and more. Ahmed hopes that his situation will improve and sooner or later he will be able to return to his original village and settle back into his home. 

For more information please contact:
Riad MARROW, Head of Preparedness & Response Unit rmarrow@iom.int 

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