17 months of impact in Chad: Building foundations for recovery in Dougui Refugee Camp

For many of us, a typical day begins with familiar routines—preparing breakfast, exercising, heading to work, or taking children to school. For families forced to flee conflict, those familiar routines are replaced by urgent questions:

• Is there safe water to drink?
• How can we protect our children?
• Where will we sleep tonight?
• Whom can we trust?
• How do we begin again after losing so much?

Since April 2023, eastern Chad has become home to nearly one million refugees fleeing conflict in neighbouring Sudan. More than half settled in Ouaddaï Province, including Dougui camp, placing immense pressure on already limited services. Families arrived to find overcrowded living conditions, inadequate shelter, limited access to clean water, and heightened protection risks. Women and girls often had to travel long distances, sometimes at night, to collect water, exposing them to significant safety concerns.

Recognizing these urgent needs, Global Affairs Canada supported World Vision Canada and World Vision Chad to implement the 17-month Gender- Responsive Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene ( WASH ), Shelter, and Protection Integrated Response to the Humanitarian Crisis in Chad project. The project’s goal was not only to meet immediate humanitarian needs but also to ensure that women, men, girls, and boys could access services that protected their dignity, safety, and well-being.

17 months of impact at a glance

• 600 emergency shelters built, providing safe housing for 3,600 people, with community-led maintenance training.
• 830 household latrines constructed near shelters to improve sanitation.
• Solar-powered water systems installed, delivering safe water to 5,000+ people.
• A child-friendly space was created, offering children a safe place to learn and play.
• 242 gender-based violence and child protection cases addressed through targeted support.
• Hygiene campaigns reached 16,000+ people, while 3,572 households received hygiene kits.

Shelter support lays the foundation for recovery in Dougui Camp

A safe place to live is often the first step toward rebuilding a life.

Working closely with refugee communities and camp coordination agencies, the project constructed 600 emergency shelters, providing safer living conditions for 3,600 people, including 1,123 girls, 1,037 boys, 750 women, and 691 men. Community members, including women, were also trained to carry out minor repairs and maintenance, strengthening local ownership and capacity.

For many families, the impact was immediate.

“Before, we were street people. Now, we have a home. Thank you!”

Refugees reported that the shelters reduced overcrowding, offered better protection from harsh weather conditions, and increased their sense of safety and well-being.

Improving access to sanitation, clean water, safety and dignity

Access to clean water affects every part of daily life, from health and hygiene to safety and dignity.

To improve sanitation conditions, the project constructed 830 household latrines close to shelters. Designed with privacy in mind, the facilities were separated by sex and equipped with locks, helping reduce protection risks, particularly for women and girls.

The project also invested in sustainable water solutions. Solar-powered water systems with automated pumps were installed at strategic locations throughout the camp, providing safe water to more than 5,000 people across refugee and host communities. What once required long and potentially unsafe journeys can now be accessed from a nearby tap.

By the end of the project, a survey revealed that 17 out of every 20 participants reported having access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services adapted to the needs of different community members—services that were previously unavailable in some parts of the camp.

How child-friendly spaces help children recover from displacement

Conflict and displacement often take away more than physical possessions. They can also rob children of their sense of safety, normalcy, and joy.

To support children’s well-being, the project established a child-friendly space where children could play, learn, and connect with others in a safe environment. Through these activities, children can build resilience, strengthen social connections, and experience moments of a normal childhood again.

As one community member reflected:

“It gladdens my heart to see children rediscover something often lost during conflict, the ability to smile again.”

For many community members, feeling heard was equally important.

“Even though we are refugees, we were supported, and we were heard. That gave us hope,” shared Fatima, an adolescent girl in Dougui camp.

Strengthening community protection for refugees

Protection services were integrated throughout the response to ensure that community members facing heightened risks knew where to seek support.

Through awareness campaigns, referral mechanisms, community-based protection committees, and collaboration with local partners, 242 cases involving gender-based violence and child protection concerns were reported and addressed. Community members became more aware of available services, including hotlines, confidential safe spaces, and feedback mechanisms.

Importantly, greater participation of women in community structures strengthened the identification and safe escalation of protection concerns, helping build trust in local protection systems.

Preparedness made all the difference when another crisis struck

In July 2025, Dougui camp faced a new challenge when a cholera outbreak occurred.

Fortunately, communities were better prepared. Water systems, sanitation facilities, and ongoing hygiene awareness activities established through the project formed a critical foundation for the response. Hygiene promotion campaigns reached more than 16,000 people, while 3,572 households received hygiene kits to support safe water collection and storage and personal hygiene practices.

Community members themselves played a central role in controlling the outbreak.

“The sensitizations have given us a better understanding of good hygiene practices and how to protect ourselves, and we are now applying these tips in our families and in our community.”

Another participant noted:

“People are now more familiar with hygiene rules and apply them more in households than they did at the beginning of the project.”

By the end of the project, trust in community protection mechanisms was high, with four out of five participants expressing confidence in these systems.

The human impact beyond the humanitarian response

There is a quiet kind of courage in places like Dougui—steady, determined, and unbroken. With support from the Government of Canada and other partners, that courage has been met with dignity, protection, and hope.

If this story could be distilled into a single message, it would simply be, “Thank you.” Thank you for helping families find shelter, access clean water, protect their children, and begin rebuilding their lives after unimaginable loss.

The achievements of the past 17 months have laid important foundations, but they are only one step in a longer journey. The story of Dougui is ultimately one of resilience—but resilience grows stronger when it is matched by sustained support and solidarity.

While significant progress has been made, the work is far from finished. Continued partnership and investment will be essential to help communities build on today's gains and create a more secure, dignified, and hopeful tomorrow. In our interconnected world, investing in resilience in places like Eastern Chad is not only an act of solidarity—it is an investment in our shared future.