Nyala is Darfur’s largest city, in the Western part of Sudan. The civil war that has torn Sudan apart for years has led many of its people to become refugees in their homeland. Thousands of men, women and children have fled to camps around Nyala in the hope of protection. Living conditions are harsh, but most of those internally displaced people (IDPs) have nowhere else to go. Every day is a fight against hunger and disease. A nice home, a hearty meal… Those are things they only see in dreams. Literally. For many have lost everything, even their sight.
An estimated 60 percent of IDPs in Nyala suffer from cataract. Malnutrition, sun and dust are the main factors responsible for that. Aid agency doctors are doing their best to treat them at Nyala’s only public hospital, but the needs seem overwhelming. In addition to basic goods, many IDPs need eye surgery to avoid blindness, and keep the hope to see one day, with their own eyes, the life they have been dreaming for so long.
Orphanage in Nyala. 
Child abandoned in an orphanage, Nyala 
An orphan, one week before his eye surgery, Nyala. 
Sudanese soldiers on patrol, Al-Fashir. 
In a village near Al-Fashir. 
Refugee camp in Nyala. 
Sleeping fighter, Nyala. 
Brothers and sister in Nyala’s refugee camp. 
Eye test, Nyala. 
Waiting for a cataract surgery, Nyala. 
Eye test, Nyala. 
Before the surgery in the clinic’s corridor, Nyala. 
On his way to the clean water reservoir, Nyala. 
Refugee camp in Nyala. 
Refugee camp in Nyala.