The three-month poultry-rearing training was launched at Dar El Salaam camp on 21 October. Addressing the participants at one of the camp's shaded mud-brick huts, UNMIS Return, Recovery and Reintegration officer Nagat Hammad thanked them for their enthusiasm and perseverance.

"It is a different time now ... war is over, and this is the way for you to grow," Ms. Hammad said, encouraging participants to use some of the poultry income to put their children through school.

"If you are hungry, you won't learn a lot," participant Rita Muroa Mereng later commented. "But with one good, nutritious egg for each child every day, you can achieve more."

Some of the women had already completed the poultry-rearing training, said Gisma Mohammed, head of El Waffage Community-Based Organization, UNMIS' implementing partner. Some were now beginning a five-day training on veterinary care, with topics including nutritious feed and oral vaccinations for poultry.

The project participants had organized themselves into seven groups of about 10 and would tend the chickens by rotation, with each group responsible for one day of the week, said Ms. Mohammed.

The women would sell the eggs mainly at local schools and canteens. Income from the eggs would be spent on project and personal expenses, and a portion kept in the bank for further investment.

The 1,500 chickens, purchased at Omdurman farms, were expected to yield 300-400 eggs per day, which would indirectly benefit about 43,700 families (218,000 individuals) in the camp.

The poultry management project – the only one in El Salaam area – was funded with an UNMIS quick impact project grant of $18,010.