Chad, climate change, 2021
The Kanem region of Chad – and more broadly the southern Sahel – is increasingly affected by drought and the subsequent water stress. Maintaining an agrarian life in the region is a major challenge for communities, who must find ways to adapt to ever-changing conditions.
Photographer Ferhat Bouda went on an immersion trip to meet families in the Kanem region in order to document their daily lives. Increasing drought, the perpetual advance of the desert, the difficulty of cultivation and access to water, they have multiple problems and challenges to face.
Struck by the living conditions and daily struggles of the local communities, he testifies about their extreme precariousness:
‘I was in a family where a mother had given me her consent to take pictures. I wanted to photograph her feeding her child. When I arrived at their house, I felt that she was reluctant, and I thought it was because of the embarrassment of the situation. I did not insist and left, without pictures. I later learned that her embarrassment was due to the fact that she had absolutely nothing to feed her son.’
This series was produced as part of the Dust – Climate Change project, in collaboration with Action contre la Faim, to document climate change’s impact on world hunger.
In western Chad, the ouaddis are oases of vegetation in the middle of the desert where market gardening is developing. However, the silting up of the ouaddis and the rivers, as well as the increasing drought, make it difficult to maintain agrarian life in this part of the Sahel.
The Douirettes are women who collect seaweed from the lake. They filter and dry it to make a paste, which is then sold or traded for basic necessities.
Allaoua Fatima, 2 months old and suffering from malnutrition, is being looked after by a neighbour while her mother is hospitalised in another unit. She has never left the hospital since she was born.
In 2020, 699 malnourished children were admitted to Mao hospital. Screening campaigns are regularly organised in the surrounding villages.
Mao Moto’s ouaddi supports 23 families through the sale of the fruit and vegetables grown.
School is not compulsory in Chad, and there are few job opportunities in the region. Many young people therefore leave their families in the hope of changing their situation and go in search of gold in the north of the country. Unfortunately, many of them lose their lives, as accidents in the mines are frequent.
Access to water is one of the main problems in the region. As soon as the village reservoir is full families have to stock up, otherwise they may go several days without water.
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