A Day in the Life of an IDP Camp Leader
Part 2: Guardians of Protection and Safety
During a monitoring visit to an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp as part of a human trafficking prevention project supported by Arise Foundation, the camp’s women leader shared another side of
her role: protecting the people in her community.
At the beginning of the visit, the camp leadership was introduced to the visiting team and the purpose of the visit was explained. When the leaders were invited to ask questions, the women leader looked directly at the visitor and said:
“Make sure you don’t steal our children.”
She explained that previously, a group of people claiming to represent a humanitarian organisation had visited the camp to distribute relief items. According to the camp leaders, confusion broke out during the food distribution and, afterwards, two children could not be found. Residents believed the visitors had used the distribution as an opportunity to abduct them.
The account could not be independently verified, but it illustrates the fear and mistrust that can develop in communities affected by prolonged displacement and insecurity. The camp leaders explained that the experience had changed the way they manage visits from outsiders. During distributions, they now position themselves around the area and watch the children closely.
For this women leader, the responsibility of protecting children extends into another important part of her life in the camp: her role as a volunteer teacher.
Each morning, she welcomes children into the camp’s primary school. Teaching with limited materials and resources can be challenging, but the classroom gives children an opportunity to learn, a sense of routine and a safer place to spend part of their day.
In this setting, education can also be an important form of protection. Keeping children engaged in school can reduce their exposure to risks including child labour, exploitation, trafficking and early marriage. Spending time with the children each day also means teachers are more likely to notice when someone is absent, unwell, withdrawn or showing signs of distress.
The challenges facing these children, however, extend well beyond the classroom.
“When the children become sick, we sometimes give them pain relief and pray they get better because we don’t have money to take them to the hospital.”
Her words show how closely the different parts of her role are connected. Teaching involves much more than lessons; she is also someone children and families turn to for care, guidance and protection.
Her experience reflects the wider responsibilities carried by many IDP camp leaders, who remain alert to unfamiliar people and activities around their communities, aware that traffickers and others can exploit the vulnerability created by displacement through false promises of employment, education, marriage, adoption or a better life.
As part of their role, camp leaders listen to concerns from residents, identify potential risks and work with humanitarian organisations and government agencies where support is available. When a child goes missing, attempted trafficking is suspected or another protection concern arises, they may be among the first people residents approach for help.
For communities that have already experienced the loss of homes, livelihoods and security, protecting people from further harm is an important part of rebuilding a sense of safety. Camp leaders are often at the centre of this work, combining the everyday responsibilities of community leadership with the wider task of looking out for those around them.
For this women leader, that can mean watching over children during a relief distribution one day and welcoming them into the classroom the next. Her experience reflects the many roles camp leaders take on as they work to provide care, continuity and protection for communities living with the uncertainty of displacement.
