Inside an IDP Camp: Water Filters

Local Initiatives for Education (LIFE) has provided 85 water filters and containers to the inhabitants of Muhammed Moge IDP camp. These filters consist of a 0.1 micron absolute hollow fiber membrane filter that removes 99% of all bacteria and 99% of all protozoa. It cleans at about 1 liter per minute. No replacement filter or cartridge is necessary and cleaning can be done by backwashing the filter with the provided syringe.

We provided the 80 leaders of groups of 20 families each with a water filter so that the whole camp will have access to a filter. The filter was not given to the leader alone, but to the 20 families together. The extra 5 filters were given to the clinic and the market place.

The training was very well accepted and the leaders responded well. We trust that this will make a difference in the camp and especially in the lives of the many children.

Nure Ali is a 75-year-old Somalilander who lives in the camp. He has 2 wives, but only 10 of his 18 children are still alive. He was elected as a leader amongst the 20 families of Somaliland who live close to him. Some of his children do house chores for other families to help provides for the family. “Water is life and the filter will help us stay healthier,” he said.

Farhia Hussein is a professional nurse from Southern Somalia. She left Mogadishu after her husband was killed in the fighting. She has 5 children and is volunteering in the makeshift clinic. There are more than 100 people visiting the clinic on a daily basis and one of the biggest problems is diarrhea due to lack of hygiene. She is very thankful for the filters and believes that it will make a difference in the camp.

Sara is a strong lady, but the sorrow is evident as she tells us her story. About 7 months ago, as a new flare of violence broke out over Mogadishu, she and her husband (with their 9 kids) fled. As they were running away, her husband was injured and she had to leave him behind. “I’m not sure if he is still alive,” she explained. The journey (1500km) to Hargeisa took more than a month for her and the children (between ages 3 and 17). Sometimes they got a ride, but for most of the journey they had to walk. She stayed in Hargeisa for 2 months before she moved to the camp.

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Inside an IDP camp: Food Relief

The needs in the Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp in Mohammed Morge, just outside of Hargeisa, are extreme. The camp was established due to the drought in Somaliland. Officially the camp has 1600 families. There are 5-7 people per family of which 4-5 of these members are children under the age of 15. Most often the inhabitants are thus elderly, widowed, or children. The camp is growing with more than 100 new families arriving per month. The major needs in the camp are food, clean water, shelter, proper sanitation, and medicine. 

The camp has a functional committee that has registered themselves as a CBO (Community Based Organization) with the Somaliland government. It is divided in groups of 20 families with leaders that were appointed by the groups themselves. There is a makeshift clinic with a nurse from Southern Somalia volunteering her services. Some small kiosks have been opened, a small vegetable market exists, and there are some places that sell water. Some of the inhabitants who are strong 
enough go to Hargeisa to beg or look for jobs. 

LIFE International (with the help of donors) gave 1500 14kg boxes of MannaPack Rice to the camp. The LIFE International team went to the camp and distributed the 1500 food coupons door-to-door to the inhabitants of the camp. We gave a box for every food coupon received. Although there has been a bit of insecurity caused by the large crowd of people, the day proceeded as planned and the distribution was successfully completed. Some ‘mamas’ cried for joy while many of them were not even able to carry their own boxes. One lady even collapsed due to hunger. 

Khadija is a 60-year-old Somalilander who has lost her husband a couple of years ago. She has 10 children. “I pray to Allah for help each day. I have nothing and am only begging for my daily bread! This is the first food I have for more than a month,” she said while kissing my hand (as a sign of appreciation).

Sulecha Ismael is barely 20-years-old and already a mother of two. Her husband (30 years old) is with her in the camp and jobless. They fled the fighting in Mogadishu and now she moves from house to house, looking for some washing to do. Life is difficult with her two small children. Many
times they have to go to bed hungry. She appreciated the Manna rice very much!

Habiba clung to to her box of food as she agreed to talk to us. She never took her hand off the box during the
interview, as if it is her only possession. She is a 70-year-old from a rural area in Somaliland. There are 5 of her children with her in the camp. She also has a child in the hospital. The pain in her face tells the story of her 3 children and husband who have died. She has been in the camp for the last 5 months and this is the first relief food she has received!

Somaliland Development: Food For Work

Small villages often lack communication with larger centers and cannot evacuate casualties or get in aid. Food and other supplies are expensive because of transport costs.

This village is benefiting from a Food for Work program which is building a road to the nearest town as well as providing basic food and clothes distribution.

In the last 10 years in this area, 16 women have lost their lives in childbirth because of the inability to evacuate them to a medical facility.

An elderly lady, Amran, is taking care of her five grandchildren, who were orphaned when their parents died of hunger.  She has no source of income, but has the burden of caring for the children, the youngest being nine months old.  When the LIFE team gave her 10 packets of rice-soy food, she was overwhelmed with joy and cried.  The children gathered and hugged their grandmother and the packs of food.

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the route

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the road under construction

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A School in AShekh Awareh built when a road connected the village to a small town 45km away; Immunization vehicles can now get through and camels are no longer the only transport.

Food Distribution in Puntland

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.

Southern Somalia Relief Efforts

In response to the drought that wreaked havoc in the Horn of Africa, we have donated 40 boxes of medical supplies, 20 boxes of assorted clothes and shoes, and 500 boxes of MannaPack Fortified Rice, while SCC/UNICEF donated 500 buckets of 20 litres of capacity and soap. Each beneficiary was given one box of MannaPack Fortified Rice, three pieces of soap, a bucket for water, and shoes and clothing.

With our partners, we distributed 6.95 metric tons of food relief consisting of cereal, pulses, vegetable oil and corn soya blend and distributed it to 500 children living in IDP camps in the Hodon district.

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Halima Ayow Abbow, a 38-year-old mother with four children displaced from Dedmay village of Barava district is a widow whose husband was murdered in 2010. As she told us in tears, armed groups belonging to Alshabab Militia that controlled the area took him from his home to an unknown prison. The group accused him of being spy and after two months in their custody they sentenced him to be beheaded and his body thrown in the street.

Halima had eight children with no one to assist her in raising them. She said that she recently lost one of her sons on the way to Mogadishu due to famine. “I didn’t have anything to feed him and we were lacking food for six consecutive days so I took my children here to Mogadishu but we still didn’t eat for over 24 hours.”

In a mixed mood of sadness and relief of the past ordeals, Halima expressed her gratitude to those who donated the nutritious food and other items for her children.

Building Latrines

Water is vital for life but without good sanitation disease will spread and kill.

Large numbers of people flowing into refugee camps need an organized system for waste disposal that will not contaminate water supplies and will not attract flies. Without latrines, the people will use any open space. We build pit latrines (“long-drops”) for these circumstances.

Building Wells in a Refugee Camp

Water is vital for life but may be far below the surface. To supply refugee camps or villages, we provide the stimulus and basic equipment to dig a well. The users of the well provide the manual labour, which may be considerable.  It can take several months to dig a well and then cap it off to protect it against contamination.

This well had to be abandoned because the sides kept collapsing.

This is the replacement so far. We still have several months to go before it's a fully functional well.