Darfur missionary returns to Eugene after doing his part to help refugees.

Byline: Jeff Wright The Register-Guard

Mission accomplished - so far.

Ken Goyer is back in Eugene, having realized his goal of introducing simple brick stoves to impoverished refugees in Darfur, the genocide-racked region of Sudan, Africa.

But Goyer, who witnessed too much misery, can't sit still for long. His fledgling relief agency, Aid Africa, has hired its first four workers and begun efforts to open an orphanage in Uganda.

The situation in Darfur can sometimes feel overwhelming, says Goyer, 62. While there in August and September on a 30-day visa, he coped by staying focused on the narrow objective of improving people's lives with inexpensive, energy-efficient stoves.

"We found the brick makers, made the bricks, demonstrated the stove and let people take the bricks home to make their own," he said this week at a Eugene coffeehouse. "We pulled it off."

But the success was tinged with moments of anxiousness and heartache. More than once, a woman thrust an infant toward Goyer, asking that he take the child to a better life in America.

"If I'd said yes, they'd have given me the baby," he said.

For nearly 10 years, Goyer has traveled to poor spots around the world, from El Salvador to Turkey, seeking to introduce his stoves to destitute villagers cooking on open fires. Amid news reports of genocidal disaster, he felt moved last year to expand his mission to Darfur.

Goyer struggled for eight months, however, to secure a visa - something the Sudanese government isn't keen to issue to outsiders who they view as potential meddlers. Goyer said he finally got his visa after Relief International, a respected aid agency, pulled some strings.

Goyer was based in El Fasher, a refugee-swelled city of more than 200,000. He managed to visit two refugee camps, Zam Zam and Al Salam. In Zam Zam, arrangements were made to demonstrate his stove to a number of camp women. But when he arrived, no women were present - only men in white robes.

As it turned out, the men needed to grant their approval first. They were sufficiently impressed, and the next day Goyer was allowed to demonstrate his stove to the women.

On the surface, the camps seem relatively safe, Goyer said. But there were clues to the underlying tension. In the Al Salam camp, for example, some women began arguing when they learned they would not be allowed to keep the pots, pans and other accessories used to demonstrate the stove's effectiveness.

"There are seven different languages in that camp, and they don't all get along with each other," Goyer said.

The janjaweed, a militia of Arab nomads, is blamed for many of the atrocities against ethnic African villagers in Darfur. Sudan's Arab-dominated government has long denied backing the janjaweed. More than 200,000 people have been killed, and 2.5 million displaced, since the conflict began in 2003.

The upheaval may be spilling over into neighboring Chad, where border clashes left as many as 200 people dead and nine villages looted, the United Nations' refugee agency reported Thursday. In other developments this past week, the Sudanese government denied involvement in a new wave of violence that killed more than 50 people in Darfur, and America's envoy to Sudan confirmed that the United States is backing away from demands to deploy a U.N. peacekeeping force there.

Goyer said he doesn't know if he saw any janjaweed rebels. "All these groups filter into town, and you don't know who is who," he said. "You don't know who they are, and you don't ask."

Goyer said relief workers in Darfur are demoralized and fearful, especially after the U.N. said it could no longer assure their safety. Many agencies are operating with skeleton crews and are unable to provide any help at camps closed off to outsiders, he said.

Goyer said he once went to visit representatives from a German relief agency in El Fasher. "There were 20 cars in their compound, but nobody in their offices," he said.

Goyer said Darfur's future is uncertain. "It's a very bad situation that's probably going to have to play out in some way," he said. "It's more complicated than many in the West realize. It's not just the government versus the rebels. It's a whole lot of factions, a lot of groups defending their own interests."

He said he's often at a loss when asked how concerned Americans can best help the people of Darfur. Cash donations, he said, may be a better option than material goods. Agencies are "drowning in things - food, clothing - that they can't get to where it needs to go," he said.

For his part, Goyer said he's more than willing to return to Darfur if he feels he can continue to be of help. But he says he's currently focusing on the needs of refugees in Uganda plagued by medical inattention and an interminable civil war.

His goal: Provide the transportation and pay the fees to get hundreds of Ugandan children - victims of malaria, cholera and diarrhea - admitted to nearby hospitals. Goyer is currently trying to ship a car from Japan to Uganda to transport children to and from the hospitals.

In many ways, the children of Uganda have it just as bad or worse as the children of Darfur, Goyer said. But there's a difference: "People are still actively shooting in Darfur."

HOW TO HELP Donations: Send to Aid Africa, 285 Maple St., Eugene, OR 97402 More information: 689-7170