END OF YEAR 2005 REPORT FROM THE GRASSROOTS ON DHOOBLEY VILLAGE AND AFMADOW DISTRICT ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, ADMINISTRATION, DROUGHT AND INTERNAL DISPLACED PERSONS.

BY: WALI M. WARFA

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

East Africa Relief And Development

(THIS REPORT IS SUPPORTED BY COMMUNITIES IN THE JUBA LAND REGION)

 JANUARY, 2006

EXCUTIVE SUMMARY

 As the executive director of East Africa Relief and Development organization, I had the opportunity of visiting both Dhoobley Village and Afmadow District.  In both areas, the communities that live there are mostly pastoralist and nomads. On visiting, I met with both the council and traditional elders who gave me right hand information from the grassroots about the villages, the district and the surrounding areas on health, education, administration, drought and IDPs.

There is a great need on health facilities, since the hospitals found in the areas are not in use due to the lack of absence of the federal government, International NGOs and UN agencies working in the areas.  There is no school found in Dhoobley and only one school is found in the District of Afmadow; hence, formal education has not been well established. The school in Afmadow is supported by a Native community based in United States.   The security is enhanced and there are administrators who are appointed from the traditional leaders and elders.   The region is engulfed by drought and the lives and livelihoods of the population in these regions are at risk since they are nomads and pastoralists and an emergency response is needed to address this issue.

Also there are some internally displaced persons who are very vulnerable.  This is because they are very poor, have not been settled down, are not able to reach other communities and have none formal education nor any health facilities. 

Compared to other areas in Somalia, this region has been reasonably stable in terms of security.  The area has been largely neglected in terms of humanitarian assistance priorities and development and has received zero proportional of assistance both financially and technically. There is no international organization present in this area.  Health, education and Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) have been forgotten. The area continues to suffer from lack of a government and civil society organizations to address the humanitarian needs of these communities. 

THE VILLAGE OF DHOOBLEY (AT THE BORDER OF KENYA-SOMALIA)

Kenya-somalia border at Liboi Kenya and dhoobley soomaaliya

Health

This is dhoobley Hospital and some of the equipments found in it.

In this village there is a hospital but closed and has all equipments and staff but do not operate since there is no funding.  MSF Belgium was here 2003 and operated for six months and after six months they abandoned it.  The village and the surrounding communities do not have health care any longer since they used to rely on this specific hospital and it’s no longer operational.

On getting sick these communities are forced to close the boarder to Kenya (Ifo,hagar dheere and Dadaab Refugee camps) for treatment which is miles away from their villages.  Children and Pregnant women are the most affected.  The most common ailments are malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea, high blood pressure etc. Due to lack of proper infrastructure and transport even for emergency cases, death rate of women and children is high since the refugee camp is far away and most of the times they are not able to access fast.

The need for medical care is very crucial and urgent since before the closure of the hospital more than sixty to eighty children used to be attended to in the hospital daily.  This is because this was the only hospital in the village and its environs.  In this area no one is able to get out and indicate what he/she is suffering from a certain disease since there is no hospital where they can take tests on their status, hence, in this area no one can indicate of people suffering from HIV/Aids, TB, STIs and other infectious diseases.

For medical care because the hospital is already built the wish of the community is that if only there was funding then the community will benefit from it.    

Education

There is no formal education for communities living in this area and the only kind of education is only Madarasas hence there is need for formal education to improve on their living condition.  Those who are teenagers now are the children who were born during the civil war and have no formal education or vocational courses that can help them improve on their livelihoods and even help themselves get any kind of jobs to be able to support themselves and their families in the near future.

 Administration

In this area there is peace because civilians are used to maintain their own security.  Elders and traditional tribe leaders are also elected by their tribes to administer security.  They maintain peace in the area and when there is a security problem they are the ones who are called upon to negotiate for peace among the communities. 

AFMADOW DISTRICT

In this District there are nomadic and pastoralist communities.   This is about 120 km from the Kenya-Somalia Boarder. People living in this district and the surrounding areas are approximately 200,000 (family).

Health

The Pictures below are from Afmadow District Hospital and its Equipments.

In this District, there is a hospital but closed due to lack of funds and has all equipments and staff.  The buildings also need some repair and renovation.  The District doesn’t have health care any longer since they used to rely on this specific hospital and it’s no longer operational.

On getting sick these communities are forced to close the boarder to Kenya (Refugee camps) which is miles away for treatment or to go to Merere Hospital which is also 90km away with rough roads.  Due to lack proper infrastructure and transport even for emergency cases, death rate of women and children is high since the refugee camps in Kenya or Merere hospital is far away and most of the times they are not able to access fast.

The need for medical care is very crucial and urgent since before the closure of the hospital more two hundred children used to be attended to in the hospital daily.  This was because it was the only hospital in the district.  In this area many people suffer from malaria, TB and infectious diseases but there are not able to take tests on their health status, hence in this area no one can indicate of people suffering from HIV/Aids, STIs and other infectious diseases.

Drugs in this area are available but in the hands of businessmen who are not specialists and just sell for money without the knowledge of what they are treating and sometimes these people may not afford to buy. 

For medical care because the hospital is already built the wish of the community is that if only there were funds then they would benefit from it.    

Education

In this district, there is only one school serving approximately 200,000 (family).  Only 235 pupils go to school in the whole district these include 185 boys and only 50 girls attend school.  For the last six years the school has been operational since they get support from Native communities who leave in United States. 

Below  is the afmadow school. There are both girls and boys in these classes.

The school-going children are aged between 14 -20 years.  The girls do not continue with school after grade eight because they feel that education is not necessary for them since they will become housewives and some parents also discourage them from going to school and they are encouraged to get married.

Administration

The above photographs represents some of the people concerned with the security of afmadow District

 In this district there is a council of administration.  The Chairman of this council is the District Officer hence in this area it peaceful and have at least sixty five police officers who may need some training and uniforms.  The council has it own building and police officers also have their own.  These buildings need renovations and repairs.

IDPs (Internal Displaced Persons)

The photographs below represents the vulnerable groups of IDPs

This is a vulnerable group of people who live outside the district and are very poor and do not have people who support them from overseas and even from within.  These are people who got displaced during the civil war and were not given any support to settle.  Their children do not attend school since they are very far from the only school within the boarder district.

Drought

In this area there is drought hence the lives of the communities and their livestock are threatened because there has been drought in Northern Kenya and the Pastoralists from Kenya have also taken their cattle to this region to look for pastures which is scarce even making it worse since it didn’t rain as expected for the short rains.  As a result they are in dire need of food for their livestock and for human consumption, water, medical care and shelter.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion these communities, health, education and IDPs seem to be the worst hit since there are no hospitals, schools and no assistance for the IDPs.  This is getting more worsened because of the drought. The lack of federal government, International NGOs and UN Agencies indicates that the area has been abandoned, forgotten and neglected, but with some assistance and international community working with the communities from the grassroots this can be changed.

Hence, as International NGO (East Africa Relief And Development), we feel that with partnership from International NGOs, UN Agencies and other donors, we can be able to assist these communities since we are present at the region and working with the traditional leaders and councils in the grass root levels.