Shabelle Camp had 700 families in September when LIFE International staff arrived to distribute food. The families came from North of the UN-assisted areas of Southern Somalia and could not reach camps around Mogadishu.

These people from the Hobyo, Xarardher, Dusamareb, and Beledweyne groups are use to hard work but through fighting and drought they have lost all their animals and homes.

Our staff worked with camp authorities to identify the most needy families and form them into groups of 12-15 who each received 50 kg of rice and a container of oil, enough for one month.

Only 250 families could be supplied from the resources we had. There is a critical need to continue supplies and to supply the remaining families. The only major supporters of this camp are the Islamic Relief and rich pilgrims returning from the Haj.

We made a second visit in October and supplied food for 400 families. The camp is made of cardboard homes, not sustainable for rainy weather. Plastic sheeting costs about 10 dollars per home. Right after we visited we found out 200 homes were burned down in one incident.

Many refugees have little clothing and the children get sick, due to the lack of medical facilities and doctors. For now we have provided four pit latrines (to serve 5-600 families) and started two wells.