War has been a fact of life in Sudan for several generations. The country has seen only eleven years of peace since 1956. More than 2 million people have died in the conflict between the Islamic government in the north and black tribes of the south.

Fueling the hostilities is up to a billion barrels of crude oil, waiting to be tapped under the disputed land. The people remain desperately poor and even the most basic infrastucture has been destroyed.

On January 9th 2005 the north and south signed a long awaited breakthrough peace accord, but at the same time, similar violence continues in Darfur in the west of the country. In both areas, the vulnerable population depends on foreign aid organizations for their basic needs. 

— Tomas Van Houtryve