Fadumo, a 20-year-old woman, is diligently working at her sewing machine in her small shop located in Buurta IDP camp/Hoodo Isse/Ergo. Her life and the lives of her family members have taken a positive turn thanks to six months of tailoring skills training and the generous gift of her own sewing machine. Previously living in poverty within the camp after losing all their livestock to drought, Fadumo now earns $5-8 a day by creating new clothes and carrying out repairs. This income allows her to support her family of seven, including her parents.
Fadumo expresses her gratitude for the positive impact this opportunity has had on her life: “It has significantly improved my life and that of my family. I am now able to take care of my own needs while also supporting my family. In the past, we struggled to have two meals a day, but now we can afford three. I reinvest a portion of my earnings into the business and use the rest to pay our bills.”
Fadumo’s family was initially pastoralists but joined the IDP camp after losing 200 goats to drought in 2017, in Sunujiif village, located in the eastern Nugal region. Prior to acquiring this job, they relied on aid from organizations, but there was no consistent source of support. If they didn’t receive aid, they would have to rely on credit to obtain food. However, Fadumo’s newfound skill allows her to support her family without relying on external assistance.
With her earnings, Fadumo is saving up to move her family out of the camp and into a rental house in Garowe, thereby seeking better living conditions. In the same IDP camp, another woman named Meymun Abdi, a mother of six, also learned tailoring and now earns $9-11 a day from her small business.
Meymun expresses her transformation, saying, “Before gaining these skills, I had to beg and rely on others. But now, I am independent. I have gained confidence and energy. I have learned that I am capable of making a difference.” From her income, she has paid a $22 fee to enroll her two sons in school for the first time this year. Meymun and her husband were displaced from the Yombeys area in the Nugal region in 2017, after losing their livestock to the drought. They joined the Buurta camp that same year in hopes of finding aid.
During periods when Fadumo and Meymun are not occupied with repairs or orders, they channel their creativity into crafting new clothes to sell. Meymun recognizes the importance of education and is determined to support her children’s learning, stating, “I earn a decent income. I hope to provide ongoing support for my children’s education. I don’t want them to experience hunger, and I want to ensure they receive an education. When you have three children attending school, one of them can study for free.”
Abdi Ali, the leader of the Buurta camp, reveals that most of the camp’s inhabitants are families affected by drought, who were displaced in 2016 and 2017. KAALO Aid and Development Organization has played a vital role in empowering these vulnerable families by providing a free six-month training course and sewing machines to 25 women selected from the camp.
“These individuals were generally impoverished and lacked skills. They faced serious challenges in accessing water, food, education, and healthcare,” explains Abdi Ali.
