Canab Cooking tea meal for her family in Salaama IDPs settlement / GECPD / Mohamed Abdinasir

In the middle of the dry desert flora of reserve area near the Somali/Ethiopia border, hundreds of pastoral families are battling to survive the current drought. They have lost their livestock; the lifeline for most families in this pastoral nomadic community.  Canab Diriye and over a hundred of other people from all over the reserve area have arrived near Bursalah, a village 50 km North West of Galkayo in Mudug region Somalia.

GECPD in partnership with UNHCR has been working in this village town to help affected families cope with the effects of the drought and rebuild their livelihoods.  So far, GECPD  has provided unconditional cash grants of US$ 120 to 300 most affected families in this village, to help them meet their most basic needs of food and water.

Canab is among the beneficiaries of this cash grants. She is a proud mother of four children and like most others in this village,  she is struggling to make ends meet. Her family lost all their livestock to the drought and now have to adopt a new means or survival in their new settlement in Salaama IDP camp in Bursallah.

“I thank God that me and my children as still alive. It wasn’t easy to survive in such a situations where you don’t have what to eat and what to drink. I trekked for three days with my children from the Ethiopian side, crossed the border into Somalia in search of help before finally ending up here” Canab explains

Today, through cash grant Canab and her family now have what to eat and could meet their other most immediate needs. “It is a great blessing coming just days to the fasting month of Ramadhan.” she sighs.

Besides the cash grants, GECPD and UNHCR partnership has been working with communities in this village to respond to the challenge of Gender-Based Violence during this emergency situation. This has been through awareness raising on GBV related issues, capacity building of community structures and facilitating access to basic services of health, psycho-social counseling, legal, security, and livelihood for survivors of GBV. GECPD has also been providing clothing material and education to the drought affected women and girls in this community.