Among the large numbers of displaced people in Somalia, women and girls often face additional burdens. Islamic Relief is supporting displaced communities across the country and recently hosted an event to coincide with International Women’s Day, recognising the resilience of displaced women.
Flood waters drove Hawa and her family from their home in Jalaqsi village and brought them some 178km south to the Somali capital, Mogadishu. The 55-year-old, her husband and children now live in the Bilkhayr camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the city’s Daynile district.
As her husband, Mohamed, is elderly and ill, Hawa has become the sole breadwinner for their family of 12. Back in their village she farmed, cultivating maize, onions, tomatoes, cabbages, watermelons, papayas and beans.
But when the floods came, everything was destroyed. Even Hawa’s goats were lost to the floods. With nothing left, they embarked on a long and difficult journey to Mogadishu.
“We could not afford to reach the camps during the flooding because we’d lost everything, so we started seeking help from people to support us in getting transport,” Hawa explains.
“Life in the camps is quite challenging. We do not receive 3 daily meals. When we don’t get food, we go to bed with nothing. We always rely on aid from well-wishers, and we live in hope [that it will arrive].”
Hawa now makes a living going into Mogadishu town to wash clothes for families in exchange for enough money to cover her daily meals. However, she does not make enough to allow everyone in the family to eat 3 times a day.
Resilience amid displacement
Hawa shared her story at an event hosted by Islamic Relief in Mogadishu to celebrate International Women’s Day earlier this month.
Over 70 internally displaced men and women were invited to attend event, which was held under this year’s theme of ‘Inspire Inclusion’.
“It is a great honour for all women around the world to celebrate this day,” Hawa says. “As women, we are the backbone of every community in the world. We are grateful to Islamic Relief for organising and hosting such wonderful activities that empower women.”
Daynile, where Hawa lives, is home to Somalia’s largest internally displaced population. An estimated 175 camps house people forced to flee their homes dues to drought, floods, disease and violence. The vast majority live in cramped shelters without enough food to eat.
Supporting uprooted communities
Islamic Relief is working in Daynile to support displaced communities through a variety of projects, including microfinance programmes such as establishing Village Savings and Loan Associations which provide financial resources for vulnerable families.
We are also building shelters to provide more secure lodgings for families and delivering food packages and nutritional supplements, as well as running training sessions, to help tackle malnutrition.
Alongside these efforts, we operate a health facility that has treated Daynile’s displaced and host communities at no cost for more than 10 years. By engaging closely with the communities, we ensure that our programmes adapt to the changing needs of the people we support.
These endeavours, implemented through our Health Education and Agricultural Livelihood Support (HEAL) project, have helped reduce vulnerability, marginalisation and economic setback among disadvantaged populations.
A sustainable health, livelihood and business development initiative has empowered farmers, women, children and other vulnerable community members to enhance their economic wellbeing and standards of living while promoting sustainable livelihoods.
Somalia is home to large communities of internally displaced people, many of whom were forced to flee their homes suddenly, unable to bring much with them.
Islamic Relief supports these families and individuals to meet their basic needs and begin to rebuild their lives. Please help us to continue this vital work. Donate now.
