Namma's story
Sometimes being a parent isn't all that different whether you live in Darfur, Doncaster or Dallas.
Namma Saeed has lived in the Al Salaam camp for four years. It's a tough and chaotic place to call home - violence is a constant threat, and days spent searching for work are followed by nights when gunshots fill the air - but that doesn't stop Namma from making sure that her family always gathers together for an evening meal.
"My favourite food is 'assida'," she says. "It's my children's favourite too. In fact, it's the most famous dish in Darfur."
Assida is a kind of porridge, made from millet and whatever is available at the camp.
"I make 'mullah' - the sauce - by frying some onions and sesame," she says. "Then I add tomatoes, salt, okra, oil…anything I have in the kitchen."
"At home in the village we used to make very fine' mullah' with meat and many different vegetables, but in the camp everything is more expensive and we have less money, so we have to use whatever we can get."
The price of food isn't the only problem Namma and her family face.
People have been killed leaving camps to plant crops, and vehicles carrying food are regularly hijacked and looted. Many roads have also become too dangerous to travel on, making it even more difficult to get supplies to isolated rural areas.
The promised UN peacekeeping force needs to be fully funded and deployed urgently to help turn this situation around.
The family meal
For now, though, Namma cooks assida for her family using whatever she can find.
"Before I make it, I wash my hands and my cooking bowl thoroughly, then I wash them again," she says.
"There are so many people in this camp and it is so crowded - if just one person gets sick then it spreads rapidly. So you have to be very careful and I always tell my children to wash their hands as often as possible."
Once it's done, Namma and her four children get together to eat. It's a valuable reminder of life before the camp.
"I scoop the porridge into a bowl, pour the sauce over it and call my children," she says. "All of us sit and eat together. It's my favourite time of day.
"Eating in Sudan is very communal," she explains. "We share one bowl and we eat with our hands, kneading the porridge and sauce together with our fingers. The children get very messy, then of course I make them wash their hands again!"
