Between August 2024 and February 2025, while El Fasher was under siege and the last international offices were closing their doors, 23 community mutual-aid groups delivered food, water, shelter and protection assistance to more than 17,000 people.
The response worked because it did not depend on access. It depended on people who were already inside.
El Fasher endured a prolonged siege marked by intense fighting, artillery shelling and aerial bombardment. Banks closed. Government institutions collapsed. International and national organization offices shut down, and the disruption of basic services pushed the city and its surrounding camps into widespread famine and malnutrition.
Under the Sudan Humanitarian Fund, in partnership with Saferworld, Future Stars Center (FSC) channelled a $45,000 budget through 23 verified community initiatives operating in El Fasher City, AbuShouk IDP Camp, Zamzam IDP Camp, and rural El Fasher (Shagara).
At a glance
$45,000 total budget. 17,138 direct beneficiaries. 102,828 people reached indirectly. 23 community initiatives. Six months of implementation across four locations.
Where the funding went
Food security took the largest share at 45 per cent of the allocation, reflecting the scale of famine conditions in the besieged city. Protection accounted for 15 per cent, water, sanitation and hygiene for a further 15 per cent, and shelter and non-food items for 10 per cent.
Three phases, three different problems
The response was not designed once and executed unchanged. It moved in three phases, each answering a different constraint on the ground.
In the first phase, from August to October 2024, ten mutual-aid groups operated across Abu Shok, Zamzam and Shagra. Each intervention was monitored in the field before, during and after delivery.
The second phase, from November to December 2024, narrowed to four initiatives targeting specific groups that a general distribution would have missed: non-food items for 50 persons with disabilities, food support for 86 people at El-Saoudi Hospital, and clothing for 300 children living in displacement shelters.
By the third phase, from January to February 2025, the problem had shifted. Essential items had become severely scarce in local markets, and nine initiatives worked under those shortages to complete the response.
The 23 initiatives
Jabal See Organization for Peace and Development · Teacher Training and Capacity Building Center · Holistic Medicine Association · Awareness and Change Association · Developmental Action Organization · BBC Mashael Cultural and Educational Center · Al-Nasr for Solidarity and Development · Life for Peace and Development · Mihrab Sudan for Peace and Development · Mama Africa for Humanitarian Services Organization · Media for Children · Al-Athar Al-Jamil Charitable Association · Al-Fajar Al-Sadiq Women’s Voluntary · Beautiful Reality Initiative · Bouqi Organization for Peace and Development · Generation Organization for Peace and Social Development · Sultan Emergency Room · Kabkabiya Emergency Room · Native Administration Group · Afaq Organization for Humanitarian Aid · Good Hands Charitable · Decent Life Voluntary · El Barg Voluntary Organization
Why it mattered
With international agencies unable to reach besieged areas and traditional procurement too slow for the pace of need, community mutual-aid groups were the only functional safety net available. Local knowledge made assistance targeted and dignified rather than generic. SHF-2 was built on that reality rather than around it.
About Future Stars Center
Future Stars Center for Development and Capacity Building (FSC) is a youth-led organization advancing humanitarian support, capacity building, sustainable development and peace-building across Sudan and Uganda. Rather than implementing activities directly, FSC provides structured micro-grants, technical oversight and field monitoring to verified community mutual-aid groups and local civil society organizations.
This project was implemented in partnership with Saferworld and the Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SHF).