By Gladys Fred Kole
Refugees in Gorom settlement in Central Equatoria state of South Sudan are appealing for the provision of shelter and other necessary services amid surge in population.
The chairperson of the refugees in Gorom, Okello Ojullo said lack of enough food is one of the greatest encounters that they are seriously dealing with.
“We used to have about five water points but now two are not working because of the current influx of Sudanese it’s now worse than before,” he said.
“Our population here is higher than the number of shelters that we are given and even the number of kids that we are producing are now growing and aging now the shelters really need top up.”
“We know very well we are leaving in the standard of refugees, but we are requesting the government and partners to ensure that this kind of livelihood is made more active to provide for us so that we are able to supplement what they give us,” he added.
Okello also reiterated that most houses around are lacking latrines and requested the provision of more latrines so that they can protect their health.
Meanwhile, the country representative of UNHCR Marie Hellen said efforts are being done to scale up the availability of water in the resettlement.
“One of our priorities is helping people who are stuck in Renk be able to move so we are really battling on several phones at the moment the refugees that are arriving Gorom is expanding very quickly,” Marie stressed.
According to agencies, Gorom refugee settlement accommodates over 5,000 refugees mainly from Congo Ethiopia, Sudan and Burundi.
Gorom resettlement camp was established in 2009 after its relocation from Lologo.