Promoting reintegration in Somalia

Context

The security situation in Somalia has deteriorated in recent years. Violent displacement, terrorist activities and yearly catastrophic droughts are forcing increasing numbers of internally displaced people to move to urban areas – including the city of Kismayo. In most cases, they live in overcrowded settlements with limited access to basic services.

The livelihoods of the population in Kismayo have deteriorated more and more due to rising prices for essential goods as a result of the Ukraine war, the impacts of climate change and the unstable conditions in the country. This affects women and children in particular. For example, there is still a lack of clean drinking water and income and employment opportunities. The limited resources create new conflicts, and new solutions are required.

Objective

The social and economic participation of disadvantaged and women-led households in Kismayo has improved.

Approach

The project strives to improve the livelihoods of particularly disadvantaged households led by women. It supports self-help groups and provides cash transfers that cover people’s basic needs. It also promotes financial inclusion and offers training courses, income-generating measures and business mentoring.

Moreover, the project raises awareness around female genital mutilation and promotes the resilience and psychosocial wellbeing of those affected. At the same time, it works with local authorities to improve the integration of internally displaced people and returnees.

The project works in the following fields of activity:

• It offers basic education for disadvantaged women, including courses in reading, writing and arithmetic. It also creates additional child care services so that mothers can participate in the training measures.
• It provides training in everyday skills and in setting up self-help groups.
• It promotes income-generating opportunities. The measures include start-up programmes, training courses and access to microcredit.
• It enables governmental and non-governmental actors to implement social security measures. This includes data protection skills for transferring money, employment promotion and business mentoring for the target group.

Last update: May 2023