At the end of 2022, Somalia and the entire Horn of Africa were still facing the impact of a severe drought resulting from five consecutive failed rainy seasons. Rivers and water sources dried up with no crops to harvest or pasture for the predominantly pastoralist communities to feed their livestock. This situation has led to an unprecedented level of food scarcity, the death of animals, hunger, and mass population displacement. Although drought is not uncommon in the region, the one currently being experienced is deeper and longer than any other drought in living memory.
Building Opportunities for Resilience in the Horn of Africa (BORESHA) is a cross-border project funded by the EUTF with the overall objective of promoting economic development and greater resilience, particularly among vulnerable groups. BORESHA works with rural communities to improve management and equitable sharing of cross-border rangelands and other shared resources. To effectively respond to the urgent needs of households whose livelihoods were disrupted by the drought, CARE prioritized cash for work interventions at 6 sites, targeting 170 households in Beled Hawa and Dollow Districts in Somalia. The interventions enabled the households to earn income to buy food for their families and in return provided labour for the restoration of degraded communal grazing fields and other productive natural assets.
Halima Ahmed Dahiye, a mother of four children (2 boys and 2 girls), aged 49, is a resident of Qabri Allan village in Dollow district. Halima is among the few individuals whose household benefited from cash-for-work activities implemented by BORESHA using EUTF funds.
Photo: By Bashi Mohamed CARE Somalia Mama Halima at her small grocery shop at Qabri allan Village
Halima is the sole breadwinner of her four children. She runs a small grocery in her village but the prolonged drought has affected her business. Many of her customers migrated with their livestock in search of pasture and water, and most of them went without paying her debt which led to her grocery business collapsing. She had no money to restock her shop since the few people who remained behind were unable to afford vegetables. The local price of food commodities has also increased because of inflation and the lack of adequate rainfall to yield enough crops. Halima also stated that some of her neighbours moved to IDP camps to receive humanitarian support.
Halima says that the income she earned from the cash for work enabled her to revive her grocery store. “From the $100 received from BORESHA, I used $50 to restock my grocery shop and $50 for food and other basic needs for my household. Before the cash-for-work programme, we would skip some meals due to insufficient food,” said Halima. She appreciates the BORESHA intervention for prioritizing female-headed households and supporting the restoration of degraded communal grazing land. Halima also represents women in the community water management committee that recently received training on water management systems, hygiene and sanitation promotion.
BORESHA cash for work interventions has reduced prompt suffering of local communities, injecting cash into the local markets, improving food security and restoring the productivity of degraded rangelands.