Transportation is what keeps Kalma Camp healthy. And usually that transportation in the form of a bus. People take the bus out of Kalma to go find work outside of the camp in nearby Nyala or elsewhere – the money they earn and then spend in Kalma is important to that community. People also wait for the bus to head to school outside the camp. Or to go the doctor, if the services they need aren’t available inside the camp’s health centers.
But waiting for the bus can be tedious. And hot. And miserable. So our team thought – since the bus is so important to the residents of Kalma – a little shade where people can wait for the bus (people often wait an hour or more) could make a big difference.
There’s a central spot where buses, no matter which direction they’re headed, converge to pickup Kalma passengers. Our team set to work staking out a small spot and erecting a simple shelter. They included a short wall all the way around so that there were plenty of places for people to sit.
With temperatures so high and a searing sun, simply waiting at the bus can be a danger. “When I saw this shade being constructed, I was so happy,” one man told us. “I feel so weak waiting here every day in the sun for the bus that takes me to work. I couldn’t wait to sit right here.”
