Restoring Dignity: How Communities in Blue Nile Are Rebuilding through Clean Water and Hope

Two years ago, on 15 April 2023, life in Sudan changed dramatically. What began as a brutal power struggle between armed military forces became one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Death and destruction forced millions of families from their homes, disrupted access to food, health care and essential services, and tore at the fragile threads of daily life. With 11.3 million people internally displaced as of March 2025, Sudan sadly remains the world’s largest internal displacement crisis.

Today, communities in the heart of Blue Nile, one of Sudan’s 18 states, continue to face immense hardship. Families already affected by a history of recurrent sub-national conflict were pushed back into a deepening crisis when the conflict escalated in 2023. Schools became overcrowded makeshift shelters. Entire neighbourhoods were left without clean water. With sanitation facilities overwhelmed or destroyed, many feared what tomorrow would bring.

But amid uncertainty, hope was not lost

In addition to its existing health and nutrition activities, Medair launched an emergency project funded by the IOM Rapid Response Fund to restore access to clean water, safe sanitation, and hygiene services for more than 3,366 people living in and around displacement sites in Blue Nile. These were displaced families and vulnerable host community members who had already lost a lot—and now faced disease, poor hygiene and a lack of dignity due to the absence of basic infrastructure.

Today, just four months later, change is flowing through these communities like clean water through newly repaired pipes.

A Turning Point

“We were suffering a lot before you came”, recalls Amal*, a mother of six who is staying in one of the gathering sites. “We had no water, and there were not enough sanitation facilities.”

Amal and her family had to flee the fighting in the capital, Khartoum. There, she worked as a nurse in a local health facility to feed her family, pay her children's school fees and serve her community. When the fighting started, her whole neighbourhood became a battlefield, and the community had to run for their lives. The fighting forced the family to flee through several states in Sudan. During their perilous journey, Amal lost her husband and had to undergo surgery to remove one of her kidneys. But the strong mother persevered and found shelter for her six children and herself in one of the Blue Nile gathering sites.

Amal's story is shared by thousands of others. Before Medair's project began, the gathering site where Amal is staying was facing a severe water shortage. Water infrastructure was damaged, storage was inadequate, and latrines were either broken or unsafe to use.

Medair teams worked alongside community leaders to identify the most urgent needs. Water systems were rehabilitated. Pumps and taps were installed. Where open defecation once threatened health and dignity, handwashing stations and emergency latrines are now in place.

Amal now walks just a few steps to get clean water for her family. "Your services have made a huge difference to our lives," she says with a smile. "We now have safe water to drink, we can shower every day and the environment is clean."

Clean Water, Safe Spaces, and Community Ownership

What makes this project different is not just the infrastructure—it is the community ownership. From the beginning, Medair involved the community in every decision. Community kick-off meetings were held to explain the project and form user committees with equal representation of men and women. These groups were trained in maintenance, hygiene awareness, and feedback collection to ensure long-term success and community resilience.

The project also delivered hygiene kits to hundreds of households. These kits included essential items such as jerrycans, soap, menstrual hygiene products, toothbrushes, and more.

In addition to infrastructure, Medair conducted hygiene awareness sessions at all sites—simple but effective lessons on handwashing, safe water storage, and waste disposal. The results are tangible: fewer reports of diarrhoea and skin infections, improved cleanliness, and a renewed sense of dignity for women and girls who now have safer, gender-segregated latrines and washing facilities.

Why Water and Hygiene Services Matter More Than Ever

As the Sudan crisis enters its third year, the humanitarian needs continue to grow. More than 30 million people out of the 47.5 million population now require assistance. Displacement, hunger, disease outbreaks, and economic collapse have made daily survival a struggle for millions. In this context, water and sanitation are not just about comfort—they are life-saving.

“When conflict disrupts everything, water becomes the first line of defense,” says Wye Yee, Medair’s Project Coordinator in Blue Nile. “Clean water prevents disease. Sanitation protects dignity. Hygiene saves lives.”

Looking Ahead: Resilience in the Face of Crisis

The most powerful legacy of this project is the resilience it has helped to rebuild. Children are laughing again in safe, clean spaces. Women are leading hygiene promotion efforts. Communities are organizing themselves to protect shared resources.

Medair remains committed to walking alongside the people of Sudan—not just in crisis, but in recovery. Our work in Blue Nile is only one part of a broader effort to reach the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities across the country with dignity-restoring and life-saving services.

Because even in times of deep uncertainty, hope can grow—especially when it flows from something as simple and essential as clean water.

Help Hope Flow

On this second “anniversary” of the conflict, we remember the pain it has caused—but we also celebrate the strength, courage, and determination of the people we serve and our staff on the ground who worked tirelessly to restore hope for the communities. And we recommit ourselves to standing with them as long as it takes.

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Support Medair’s work to stand with Sudan and be part of the change: www.medair.org/donate

*Name has been changed for security reasons.

This content was produced with resources gathered by Medair field and headquarters staff. The views expressed herein are those solely of Medair and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organisation.  

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