At first glance, Farshana camp is pretty much what you'd expect.
The women spend hours hauling water,
the children play a lot of soccer
and if they're lucky, go to school.
Once a month there's a food distribution.
But mostly, you see people sitting under trees
and assume there's nothing much to do.
You don't realize that behind the scenes
almost everyone is working frantically
because you can't survive inside the camp
without some form of extra cash.
If your goal is to make money
selling stuff is the way to go.
you have a captive audience of 20,000.
No matter how poor they are,
they still need shoes
and children's clothes,
soap,
and toothpaste,
and candy.
Though if they can't afford the commercial version
they can buy the local brand.
Wedding dresses,
and cheaper ones for daily use.
Even the occasional luxuries,
like noodles,
pencils,
and tea.
There's local honey in those soda bottles.
And toothbrushes:
either imported,
or the poor man's brand.
The problem is, you need money to buy your merchandise
and most refugees arrive at the camp without a lot of cash.
A few have managed to pool money from their extended family
and use it to open up their own store.
Mohammed sells everything from batteries
to bubblegum.
He learned the trade by working in an older brothers shop before the war.
By now he's saved enough to hire a truck
and orders his supplies from Abeche town
three hours away.
His sons do all the heavy lifting.
Mohammed just shows up to keep an eye on things.
He mostly sells to other store keepers
so he no longer has to sit inside his shop
and wait for customers to come to him.
The extra cash has allowed him to try his hand at other businesses,
like money-changing,
and focus on growing his family.
With more money he can buy more wives.
At 52, he just married for the third time.
He has to build a house,
and cover living expenses,
for each and every wife.
In fact, this is just another long-term investment.
More wives mean more children
and kids are the unpaid workforce that run Mohammed's growing empire.
His son squeezes fresh tamarind juice each day
and takes it to the local market
7 kilometers outside of camp.
In Sudanese society, wealth comes with responsibilities.
Mohammed not only provides for his immediate family
but also sisters, cousins, and aunts.
He has over 50 mouths to feed.
And when friends drop by he's expected to take care of them as well.
But Muhammad's well-respected in the community.
When there's a meeting, people listen when he speaks.
In this society that's worth almost anything.