PCO traveled to Krisan Refugee Camp on the border of the Ivory Coast to meet with camp officials and to look into the possibility of establishing a partnership with an NGO on camp. Disappointingly, we found that not a single NGO is present there as of now. The major organizations involved are the UNHCR, the International Red Cross, the Ghana Refugee Board, and a few church groups. Krisan is a much smaller settlement than Buduburam, and has a very different environment. With only around 1,699 people, the camp is noticeably quiet and empty. The largest majority of refugees there came from the Sudan, followed by Liberia, then Togo; 9 nationalities in total are represented. Krisan has also had a much more difficult time in terms of security than Buduburam has. In 2005, a large number of refugees fled to the Ivorian border after burning a UNHCR car and the camp managers office in hopes of avoiding the forced integration program in place by the UNHCR into the surrounding Ghanaian community. It became a point of contention between the Ivorian government and the Ghanaian government until eventually the refugees were made to return to the settlement. Camp Manager admitted that this was a very violent process. Mr. Edjameh, Camp Manager, seemed enthusiastic about the added help an NGO like PCO would bring to his camp.
We were not granted access to see the camp at all or speak to anyone until we produced a signed document from the UNHCR and the Ghana Refugee Board. My personal impression was that it almost seems as if they try to keep people off camp to avoid allegations of misconduct. While there is great potential for PCO to help their camp, it would require a huge amount of commitment. Because there are no NGO's currently working at the settlement, any initiative PCO were to undertake would be completely independent, and would need to be done in its entirety. In order for PCO to be effective there, they would need to establish a whole new office at Krisan, complete with a full-time staff. To begin anything there without taking that step would unfortunately lead to failure of the project. My advice would be to stay in contact with Camp Manager and the UNHCR field officer, but to wait before taking any further steps until all of PCO's other projects are running smoothly and effectively.