Monther AbuTarha/Oxfam

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Gardening in a refugee camp
Monther AbuTarha/Oxfam
"A plant has a soul, and I am the one who’s responsible for these plants, as if they were my children"
In Za'atari refugee camp, Jordan, thousands of white caravans stand near to Mafraq in the north of the country. The camp is home to 80,000 Syrian refugees, making it the world’s largest Syrian camp.
Residents in the camp, alongside Oxfam, have created a filtration system to clean used water. This system passes dirty water through sand to remove nasties, so water used in cleaning can be recycled and a third of household water saved. Not only does this water cover essentials like cleaning and cooking, it means the residents of the caravans have the joy of growing vibrant flowering plants.