Saharawis

Obtaining and storing drinking water in the desert is a major challenge. Groundwater is difficult to access and of poor quality, sometimes even harmful to one’s health. Drinking water therefore has to be brought in from outside at great expense. The usual metal water tanks are unsuitable for storage as they rust quickly. An inexpensive solution are large plastic bags that can store hundreds of liters of drinking water. These must be protected from damage by goats through a small fence and they must be covered with tarpaulins to protect them from UV radiation. Last year, SwissRelief‘s partner helped 30 families replace their old, rusty tanks with new plastic ones.

In addition, SwissRelief's partners conduct playful animations for children in the refugee camps. The program is very popular and several thousand children regularly take part every month. The responsibility for this lies in the hands of four leaders who started out as volunteers many years ago. Due to the political conflicts and the inflation, social tensions among the refugees have increased and we hope for a quick and lasting solution.

With regards to the political situation of the Saharawis, we endeavor to take a neutral stance. The work of SwissRelief is not politically motivated but rather stems from our desire to provide humanitarian assistance and to encourage the ongoing development of society. This is in keeping with the code of conduct promoted by the ICRC which you can access here. Our desire for the Saharawi people, as for any other ethnic group, is a life of dignity and self-determination as a fundamental human right.