Somalilandsun – The pastoral education project in Somaliland funded by Finn Church Aid with the implementation of its local partners of Adeso started in August 2012with the aim to improve access to quality education thus pastoral children in Sanaag region of somaliland got three new mobile schools, in addition to target schools support was given also to already existing semi-pastoral schools.
The project consisted of the provision of school subsidies, school materials and capacity building of community education committees. This was to ensure that schooling for 7-14 and 15-25 year olds will be successful.
The successful project was result of cooperation with mosques, the influence of elders, public information and several meetings. Also child to child clubs were established. The content of activities included peace building and good governance.
Semi-pastoralist schools are important in areas, where families are partly fishermen and agro-pastoralists. Pastoralists face a continuous decline in livestock assets, and depletion in stock due to illegal fishing. They lack proper equipment. Drought affects both groups.
In order to survive, people have stuggeled to get food for the families and have been forced to move from one place to another.
With the grant, teachers have been able to get semi-pastoralist schools better equipped. Classrooms now have furniture, school materials and proper learning environment. The number of children in the schools has rised and pastoralist children are able to get formal education.
Finn Church Aid in Somalia/Somaliland
FCA has a country office in Hargeisa, Somaliland and a sub-office in Garowe, Puntland.
Peace building and relief aid
Since 2008, FCA has supported peace building initiatives by the traditional and religious leaders in the country.
FCA continues to support essential services in camps for Internally Displace People (IDPs) in Mogadishu and food distribution in Gedo. We
provide clean water and food to tens of thousands of families. This has been of significant help in an area where drought is a major challenge.
FCA also supports local partner organisations in Puntland and Somaliland in humanitarian projects related to schooling and livelihoods.
We provide relief aid in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, where people have fled from Somalia, as well as in the camps of Aw-barre, Shredder and Dolo Odo in Ethiopia.
The aim of the humanitarian aid work supported by FCA is to:
• save lives by providing clean water, food and shelter
• emergency education for children, especially children living with disabilities
• skills training for youth
• improve access to water and sanitation in IDP and refugee camps
• renovate and construct boreholes in the camps
• establish water supply committees
In establishing water supply committees, special attention is paid to gender equity. The committees are supplied with tool packages for cleaning up the environment and for organising waste disposal, and offered training. The program is implemented by a local organization.
Working together with partners
Our partner organisation Norwegian Church Aid specialises in organising water and sanitation both in connection with emergencies and in the long term. Diakonie Katastrofenhilfe provides food and supplies to evacuation camps in and around Mogadishu. Local partner organisations are ADESO, working in the Sanaag region, and Candle Light in Somaliland.
The emphasis of the work is to ensure continuity and find sustainable solutions after the acute relief aid phase.
For more information visit http://www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi/
