‘Manchester helped me develop greens within the Sahara’

A girl dwelling in a refugee camp within the Sahara has described with the ability to construct vegetable gardens within the desert because of a Manchester charity.

Fatimatu Bachir, who was born and lives in a refugee camp in Algeria after her household fled battle in Western Sahara, produces an enormous provide of greens for her fellow refugees.

She was simply 13 when she met volunteers from Levenshulme-based Western Sahara Support Group throughout a visit to Manchester in 2005, which she stated was “life-changing” as she learnt new expertise.

Inspired by a more healthy food plan, she persuaded the charity to fund her vegetable gardens which produce onions, tomatoes, aubergines, cucumbers and water melons.

Ms Bachir has now travelled again to Manchester, bringing together with her a brand new era of youngsters from the refugee camps, which she stated have been “her home”.

She instructed BBC Radio Manchester: “I am very happy, I am part of this.

“I got here to Manchester 20 years in the past and that is my second time now.

“It was the best experience of my life. It has been life changing.”

The 33-year-old continued: “I learnt very important skills on my visit.

“I used to be amazed. We within the camps had such a poor food plan – we did not know or care about greens.

“I started thinking about vegetables.

“I contacted the group however they have been sceptical about whether or not greens can develop there as it’s in the course of the desert.”

Ms Bachir stated they “began with little parts” but have since managed to grow vegetable crops of 30,000 lbs (14,000 kg).

The charity’s chairman Andy Pitts said: “Their backyard expertise are wonderful.

“It is obviously difficult to grow vegetables in the desert especially with the strong winds.

“They are very inspiring and difficult folks.”

Western Sahara is a territory on the north-western coast of Africa that has been the subject of a decades-long dispute.

It was once a Spanish colony, and is now mostly controlled by Morocco and partly by the Algerian-backed Polisario Front – which says it represents the indigenous Sahrawi people and wants an independent state.

Thousands of Sahrawi refugees still live in refugee camps in Algeria and some have been there for 40 years.