Region: Africa
Country: Chad
Year: 2019
Shelter: RHU
Project size: 101-500
Modality: Temporary shelter
Sector: Shelter
Partner: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Support: Capacity Building, Communications
Sheltering displaced families in Chad with safe and dignified RHUs
Chad hosts over 450,000 refugees, with most arriving from neighbouring countries such as the Central African Republic (CAR) and Nigeria. The Lake region is still affected by violence and instability due to the presence of armed groups such as Boko Haram.
As part of their relief mission to shelter the displaced population in Chad, UNHCR implemented Better Shelter Relief Housing Units (RHUs) in the Ngouboua and Dar Es Salam temporary camps.
“After a night in the community shelter, UNHCR informed me that my children and I were going to receive a Relief Housing Unit (RHU). I was happy because of the RHU’s lighting. With the locking door, it is protecting us as well. I feel safer and more comfortable.” – Bintou, a Nigerian refugee living in an RHU at the Dar Es Salam camp in Chad.
© UNHCR/Aristophane Ngargoune
Read more about UNHCR’s efforts in Chad here.
Bintou (23) was forced to flee her hometown of Bagakawa, Nigeria in December 2018 because of violence from an armed group. With her three children - seven-year-old Ali, three-year-old Khadidja and one-year-old Halimé - she walked two days to reach safety across the border with Chad. UNHCR found the family and transported them to Dar-es-Salam Refugee Camp, which is safer because it's further from the border. Today, Bintou and her children live in a Refugee Housing Unit (RHU). “After a night in the community shelter, UNHCR informed me that my children and I were going to receive a Refugee Housing Unit (RHU). I was happy because of the RHU’s lighting. With the locking door, it is protecting us as well,” she said. “I feel safer and more comfortable.” Bintou also explained that the RHU helps shield her family from extreme weather, especially the intense sun and heat that beats down on this part of Chad most days. Although life has been difficult in the six months since she was forced to flee Nigeria, Bintou has found a way to bring parts of her home – and her cultural traditions – into her new shelter. “The interior of our RHU is decorated in the image of my culture. I designed and made some art objects that I’ve placed inside my RHU,” Bintou explained. ;
