| Due to poverty, war and displacement, most Somali children will never go to school. Across Somalia as a whole, only 17 percent of children attend a primary school, but in rural areas the figure is far lower.
Among nomadic people in the arid Mudug region, the only education most children will gain is how to survive the harsh desert environment.
A small school for orphaned girls in a village called Harfo is helping the most vulnerable children in the region receive an education.
Nine-year-old Idil was born to a large family in the Mudug region. The family lived an arduous life as settled nomads, with little more than their goats to keep them alive. They had settled in a village called Adey-Gabogabo, but the frequent dry spells of the Mudug region would often force them to move to find water.
When Idil's father died, leaving her mother, Hawa, alone with ten children, the family was plunged into severe poverty.
As head of the family, Hawa gave her children chores to do. Even Idil, who was only six at the time, had to work.
"“I was the youngest person in my family but I had to work looking after the kid goats. If there was any water in the ponds nearby, I had to fetch it, but when they dried up my older sisters would fetch water from further away.
"We would eat just once a day, mostly rice and milk, and we drank goat’s milk for breakfast and dinner."
After struggling hopelessly for a few years, Hawa realised that she couldn't care for her ten children alone in the village. She heard about a school and hostel for orphaned girls 37 km away in a village called Harfo. Together, mother and daughter made the journey and Idil was enrolled at the school.
Harfo Girls' School
The school was established by the Galkayo Education Centre for Peace and Development (GECPD), an organisation founded by the dynamic educationalist, Hawa Aden Mohamed.
The school is also an orphanage. It welcomes girls that have lost either of their parents and girls that have been abandoned by their families. A few of the girls come from extremely poor families that have been forced to leave their homes because of either war or drought.
Islamic Relief is working with GECPD to improve conditions for the girls in the school and have built four dormitories for 160 girls, a large dining hall, a library and a water tank.
For Idil, it is more than just a school. It has given her a chance to spend time learning, make friends, and enjoy some simple comforts. "I was so surprised when they showed me to my own bed. I have never had a bed before, only straw mats. Find out more about Islamic Relief's Education and Training projects
Find out more about Islamic Relief in Somalia
|