Reducing barriers to Learning for Children living in Displacement Camps
More than three decades of conflict, drought and floods in Somalia have pushed families and communities away from their homes. The recent drought of 2022/2023 is reported to have displaced about 1.5 million people. UNICEF estimates about 3 million children being out of school, unable to learn. The impacts of missing school are lifelong and intergenerational.
CPD, with support from Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH) has been working in Galkayo South to support such children to access quality education in a safe and conducive environment. Galkayo South is home to about 45 Internally Displaced People (IDP) Camps, and a population estimated at 9,364
households (55,528 people). The numbers continue to grow as the emergency situation remains dire.
The project has been addressing the barriers that households face in supporting children’s enrolment and retention in school through providing cash support to households for 1200 learners, half of them are girls, at $10 per learner monthly. To motivate the teachers who, sometimes work with strained resources, the project is supporting 130 teachers with incentives of about $120 – $200 per month during school terms since October 2021. Additionally, CPD completed the construction of 15 additional classrooms in 10 IDP schools and equipped them with 1200 desks. For six schools that lacked appropriate sanitation facilities, the project supported the construction of 11 child-friendly and inclusive toilets and other hygiene facilities. The WASH facilities, coupled with the distribution of menstrual hygiene materials and messages has gone a long way in keeping the girls in school throughout the term. These efforts have ensured more than 95% retention rates among learners in primary school since the beginning of the project in 2021.
The project was designed and is implemented with strong community participation especially in identification of the households and learners to benefit who mostly are from very vulnerable households and are not benefiting from other support services. Our robust use of area targeting as well as frequent post distribution monitoring ensures that those with the most unmet needs are reached. Equally, we have strong community information sharing and feedback mechanisms that allow them to voice concerns and provide opinions on the interventions.
