Mia Farrow: A Trip to Darfur

In June, actress Mia Farrow returned from a weeklong trip to Darfur, the conflict-ravaged region in western Sudan, with images of "unthinkable suffering" – and a passion for the people who have survived. “The people I met, the stories I heard – all of it is seared into me,” Farrow, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, tells PEOPLE. “I am not the same person anymore.” Here are her photos and recollections of her journey. By Joanne Fowler

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LIFE AT THE CAMP

In Darfur, 90 percent of the villages have been burned amid the fighting, forcing families to live in crowded refugee camps like the one in Greida (left), where 126,000 people live under pitched tents. "There's nothing to do at the camps," says Farrow. "UNICEF tries to create safe places for the kids and brings in crayons and paper. An aid agency in Norway had sent three soccer balls, but they didn’t hold up; the heat deflated them." For day-to-day survival, "wood is becoming a currency in the camps, and can be traded instead of money."