Mission East helps victims of fire in Northern Nigeria

69 refugee families lost their homes and belongings when a fire spread in a refugee camp in Borno state. Mission East has sent DKK 100,000 so that the families can build new shelters and buy cooking utensils.

They have fled terror to find safety. But now refugee families in northern Nigeria have gone from the ashes back into the fire – literally. A raging fire in one of the largest refugee camps in Borno state has left 69 families homeless. They have lost everything.

Mission East has now sent DKK 100,000 from a pool of flexible funds to the partner organization ZOA, which is the only aid organization that helps the victims in the affected camp zone. The money goes to new shelters and kitchen equipment for a total of 150 families who have been affected by fires recently.

- I have lost everything, says a woman. - I went out to get food, but now I have neither food nor shelter. And no life…

- Everything is burnt, and you can't even see the ashes from our things anymore, adds a man.

It is uncertain what caused the fire at the Muna camp in Maiduguri. It is extremely dry in the area, and that day the desert wind also blew into the camp.

According to the camp manager, there have been a number of fires in the camp, and over recent months, more than 3,000 families have lost their homes and belongings. In February and March, it is extremely hot and dry, and an impending "lean" harvest season makes people leave their huts in the camp to look for food in the surrounding areas.

The situation is desperate. There are 50,000 refugees living in the large Muna camp in Maiduguri. Only 4,000 of them regularly receive food aid from the World Food Programme. 31,000 receive only one food ration every two months. As many as 7,000 refugees receive no help at all.

The picture: Left you can see the burnt places where the huts used to stand. Photo: ZOA.