Community Kitchens in Action
Nas Shagala Films Their Life-Saving Work
Follow Nas Shagala’s films and documentation of civil society initiatives in Sudan at Nas Shagala Instagram
25.6 million people are facing acute hunger in Sudan and 13 areas are at risk of famine
Sudan Emergency World Food Programme
Community Kitchens in Action; التكايا, Al-Takaya
This week’s brief post highlights the work of Nas Shagala, Working People, dedicated to documenting civil society initiatives in Sudan. Nas Shagala’s 10-minute documentary التكايا , Al-Takaya; Community Kitchens, (English subtitles), embedded below, follows the vital work of volunteer programmes providing food, water, fuel and other practical and moral support to war-ravaged regions of the capital. The film was screened at the Society for the Study of the Sudans UK, SSSUK Annual Symposium held in London earlier this month. It is a profoundly moving testimony to the courage, resilience and generosity of Sudanese civilians caught up in a conflict not of their making. Similar programmes have sprung up around Sudan.
As the war continues to undermine the very fabric of civil life in Sudan, such grassroots initiatives have often proved the only lifeline for endangered communities. They battle continual internal threats and lack of funding. See Sudan’s local kitchens are stepping in to make up for the lack of international aid, Famine threatens Khartoum’ South Belt as free kitchens close and WFP supports Khartoum’s grassroots kitchens as famine threatens capital
Background to Community Kitchens in Khartoum
The Greater Khartoum kitchens follow two different models. Under the takaya system, religious and community leaders feed people on the streets, in houses, or under trees; but there are also more structured kitchens run in defined spaces by the emergency response rooms. Hassan, who helps coordinate assistance across Greater Khartoum, said over 350 communal kitchens have been set up, assisting 500,000 families with at least one meal a day. “We aim to save people’s dignity,” he said. “Everybody should be able to eat and not feel shame. We, as Sudanese, are still helping each other. We survive together.” Volunteers said the kitchens run regular funding campaigns, using social media to request money from philanthropists and diaspora networks. They also receive disbursals from national and international NGOs, as well as from UN-managed funds.
New Humanitarian, We survive together’: The communal kitchens fighting famine in Khartoum
Watch the Film Here:
Women's literacy in Sudan 
Thank you for this helpful compilation about how Sudanese people are responding to the war, to survive. The Nas Shagala videos are so recent and expressive.
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