Darfur Women Network Feature Story

When the Darfur genocide began in 2003, over 400,000 civilians were killed, two million were  displaced from their homes, and hundreds of thousands of survivors sought asylum across the  borders of Sudan to live in refugee camps within the Republics of Chad, Uganda, and the  Central Republic of Africa. Mastora Bakhiet, founder and executive director of the Darfur  Women Network Inc. (DWN), said when the attack and burning began, she and her family relocated to the United Arab Emirates before being offered a visa to live in the United States.  

“We were horrified about our safety before we arrived in the USA,” Bakhiet said. “We won the Diversity Visa Lottery to come. My family and I arrived in 2004. It has been a very difficult  experience. There were many things to learn to survive.” 

After moving to the United States, she began volunteering with various political advocacy  organizations to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur, with the hope that the  international communities could bring sustainable peace to her homeland. 

“The advocacy organizations built a strong coalition, and they did fabulous work, but peace is  beyond their power,” she said.  

As a volunteer, Bakhiet “continuously” considered the circumstances of the displaced civilians who lack basic needs like drinking water, and the sexual and physical violence faced by refugee  women and girls collecting firewood away from their camps. 

“There are orphans and children with disabilities, some lacking shelter and families, while others are forced into child labor” she said. “Girls are often vulnerable to sexual violence and are forced  into early child marriages. Most of the children drop out of schools or irregularly attend because their families can’t afford them.” Most of the internally displaced women, Bakhiet said, originate  from villages with limited education and skills to earn a steady income to provide for their children. 

In 2014, she visited a refugees’ camp in Chad and later established the Darfur Women Network  Inc., which “is committed to providing Family Social Services and Women’s Economic  Empowerment Programs,” enabling families to “overcome poverty, adapt [a] means of  sustainable development, and empower women to improve their livelihood.” 

“The displaced, refugees, and vulnerable families of the genocide in Darfur have suffered from  severe food insecurity, disease outbreaks, and a lack of basic social services,” Bakhiet said. 

Some of DWN’s goals are to distribute safe drinking water to 7000 families, increase awareness  to Darfuri refugee mothers on the importance of preparing nutritious meals, and to provide 6000  safe stoves to women living in the refugee camps in Chad.  

The organization is currently raising funds throughout International Women’s Week (Mar. 8-Mar.  12) to help provide entrepreneurship training to displaced families and enable them with the  ability to secure an income.  

For the future, Bakhiet said the organization’s goals are to continue helping survivors of the  Darfur genocide improve their livelihood, eradicate child labor, help youth achieve their goals  through increasing their access to education, the internet and vocational training, create access  to solar energy and clean water, address the needs of orphans and children with disabilities,  and build an information and data system to help international organizations provide services in  Darfur. 

“Becoming a citizen of the United States has given me a responsibility and an obligation to help  the survivors of the Darfur genocide. This is why I founded DWN,” she said.