ADRA : Adventist Development & Relief Agency International

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Members of the Dhanawe women’s group tend to their kitchen garden

The small plane carrying me to Hudur town starts its descent into the once lush green cropland surrounding the capital of the Bakol region in south Somalia. Instead of thriving fields of millet and vegetables, though, I see scraggly, water-starved vegetation poking up through patches of sand. Scattered water wells and a few boreholes dot the ground below. The plane lands, and I step onto the Hudur airstrip. “Welcome to dry Bakol,” my colleague John Ndezwa says in welcome.

John, the project coordinator for ADRA’s Emergency Water and Livelihood Support Program (EWLSP), tells me that chronic drought conditions in southern Somalia have devastated the Bakol region and have greatly affected the ability of the agro-pastoralist communities to produce food. “Many wells are dry and those that are functioning yield water that is 50 percent below normal capacity. The locals’ dependence on water for their survival and livelihoods has threatened their ability to recover,” John explains. He adds that increased movement of livestock and people in the region has put existing water and food sources under persistent pressure, thus straining resources and creating competition and the potential for conflict at already crowded water points.

EWLSP is ADRA’s latest project in Somalia, promoting the establishment of ten kitchen gardens by women’s groups who are trained to manage the gardens. With 34,000 beneficiaries throughout Somalia to its credit, the EWLSP has brought hope to local women determined to increase their household income and diet diversity.

I set out with John and the rest of the ADRA team to explore the Bakol countryside and see how the EWLSP project is helping people in the dry, vast lands of south Somalia. We travel east from Hudur town and after a few kilometers we arrive in Dhanawe village.

A group of about 30 women—members of the Dhanawe Women’s Group—have braved the scorching sun to meet the ADRA team. With assistance from ADRA’s EWLSP project, the women have set up a kitchen garden and they are eager to tell us how the garden has changed their lives. Fifty-year-old Amino Muqtar Gudow, one of the most active members of Dhanawe women’s group, is especially anxious to share her story. “I am very grateful for this project because I now see hope of harvesting my vegetables, selling them in the market, and making enough money to fix my teeth,” says Amino, who though self-conscious about her imperfect smile, grins widely as the other women tease her good naturedly. “I have to look good to find a husband and this is a perfect opportunity for me to improve on my beauty,” she adds.

Amino Muqtar Gudow

From Dhanawe, the ADRA team travels to visit three other villages participating in the garden project: Farak, Garasweyne, and Tawakal. The gardens provide ample evidence that EWLSP is fulfilling its objective to strengthen and diversify livelihoods of households and communities in Bakol. More than 100 women have been trained on seed selection, soil fertility, and irrigation techniques, along with how to prepare land and plant seeds properly. Hundreds more will benefit once the additional six planned kitchen gardens are fully operational.

“ADRA has provided us with good training on how to manage this kitchen garden and has also given us farm tools and implements, including wheelbarrows, shovels, forks, rakes, irrigation drip kits and seeds for planting,” says an elated Habiibo Aden Mumin, the chair of the Garasweyne women’s group. “We are now prepared to turn our shambas [gardens] green.”

In each of the four kitchen gardens I visited, the vegetables planted and nurtured by the women are doing well. Mano Sheikh Hussen, one of ADRA’s EWLSP community trainers, ensures the women know how to make the best use of their homegrown bounty. “The women are trained on how to cook these vegetables and taught the importance of such a diet to the family,” notes Mano, adding that the women also learn some basic principles on how to market their produce.

In Bakol, where ADRA has implemented water projects for the last six years, it was easy to see the kitchen garden project has helped to bring about another “green” revolution. With the women inspired by their garden’s success and the increased diversity in their families’ diets, hope has replaced despair.

Vegetables in Dhanawe kitchen garden

“I am very optimistic that once I sell the vegetables and make money to fix my teeth, I will be able to get myself a husband. Men do not like me because of my teeth, but I am now optimistic that things will be better,” concludes a joyful Amino, as she reaches for a jembe [garden hoe] and begins tending her garden.

As I hop onto the plane bound for my home base of Nairobi, the words of Amino still linger in my mind, and I smile as I think how her life is changing because of ADRA’s kitchen garden project.

Jason Nyantino is the public relations officer for ADRA Somalia.

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The enormous force of the Tsunami left nothing of Qulule village but this deserted strip of sand.

Qulule village took a direct hit from the Asian Tsunami on December 26, 2004. After the water receded, the devastated villagers struggled to come to terms with the calamity and fought for a breath of fresh air amidst the stench of death and destruction. They had no choice but to leave everything to God. As I walked through what remained of the village, I stepped gingerly through the remnants of domestic life littering the beach—endless piles of kerosene lanterns, furniture, and kettles—my footprints trailing through the dark, circular, ashy patches marking where the villagers once cooked their meals.

Prodded along by my curiosity, I explored further, digging deeper into the scattered remains of Qulule. I climbed to the headland, observing that the village had once stood only 20 meters from the high tide line in the mouth of a beautiful gorge. Thus situated, when the tsunami struck, Qulule had been literally erased away, its forty-odd temporary dwellings swept into the sea. Only a solitary cement-block structure, sheltered under a rock ledge, remained standing.

The enormous force of the Tsunami left nothing of Qulule village but this deserted strip of sand.

As the Qulule villagers shared their tsunami experiences, I listened intently, pained by their tales of survival and loss. Their oceanfront homes washed away, they had no choice but to move under rock ledges and caves. The inviting landscape they so loved was now foreign and hostile, the white sandy beach uninviting. But where else could they live? Perhaps the headland—on the cliffs high above the beach—but up there the only access to fresh water was in the deep gorge a lengthy and treacherous hike away. Besides, a villager could normally carry only a 5-liter can of water at a time. For this reason, along with the threat of flash floods through the gorge, the villagers preferred to stay near the water source at the beach. Yes, the headland was a challenging option. The villagers assured me, however, that they would move to higher ground if the gorge water could be accessed more easily. I knew ADRA was well equipped to make this happen, and as I left the village I assured my friends we would return to build a waterworks in the gorge.

In October 2005, anxious to see how my friends had fared over the last year, I returned to Qulule with an ADRA project team in tow. I was surprised and pleased to see a new village perching on the cliff top! The villagers had kept their promise of settling there, even though the waterworks had not yet been constructed.

The ADRA team eagerly set about surveying the land and discussing the technical requirements and logistics of building the much-anticipated waterworks. After all, Qulule had been waiting almost a year for this, and the villagers were growing skeptical they would ever have easy access to the gorge’s spring water. As the villagers observed the work under way, doubt gave way to the hope and promise of renewed life. By February 2006, designs had been finalized and work had begun. The project is progressing steadily, and the waterworks should be completed and functioning by the end of May 2006.

I witnessed firsthand the faith, courage, and resiliency of Qulule’s people. Left with nothing in the wake of the tsunami’s destruction, they relied on God to “swat away the flies.” Now, in anticipation of the new, convenient, and safe water source, Qulule is once again vibrant and growing.

Qulule is just one of the water-hungry Somali villages ADRA has helped by constructing waterworks. ADRA is actively implementing or supervising numerous other waterworks projects in the region.

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Looking down from the relative comfort of my airplane seat as I pass over the vast, arid country of southern Somalia, I notice that the water holes are downright dry. Blame it on Gu and Deyr—the seasonal rains that have been largely avoiding the Horn of Africa for the better part of a decade.

In general, one would remark, the region is in trouble. Slowly keeling over. The two consecutive failed rainy seasons are giving the residents of the districts of Huddur, Elberde, Rabdure, Tieglow, and Wajid, in the Bakool region, a reason to consider the worst. The last dry spell arrived in 2005 between April and June, when the Gu rain was supposed to soak the grazing areas and give farmers enough moisture for their fi elds. But when the water didn’t come again in October, and the fodder and the water holes became critically low, livestock carcasses began turning up all over the place. That’s troubling news when your way of life depends on the health— and size—of the herd.

In the Bakool region alone, more than 1.4 million people are beginning to feel the effects of the drought. Water prices are already jumping. But the water itself is increasingly going to fewer people—that is, to people who can afford, and are ready to pay, 35 to 40 Somali shillings for each 52-gallon drum, nearly US $3. In a country where the yearly income for an average person is $600—when there are no droughts, of course— that kind of spending will cut a hole in your pocket. If the situation worsens, the United Nations fears that there will be more than just dead animals. The magnitude of the situation then would be like shutting the faucet off in, say, Colorado Springs, Minneapolis, Honolulu, and Tulsa at the same time—indefi nitely.

Elberde district is the most affected by the lack of rain, and the problem is stretched to an almost unbearable level by the ongoing clan confl icts. Only two hand-dug wells and one borehole—from a total of 18 wells—are functioning. The rest have simply dried up.

Many herders up and down the Somali-Ethiopian border are not waiting for the water to come to them. Instead, they are pushing their flocks, and their families, to the south across an area the size of New Jersey toward more fertile areas in Garas Weyne, Morogavi, Dhil Siji, Xuddur, El-Lahelay, and various Tieglow villages where they are likely to fi nd a river. The move, in humanitarian lingo, has turned them into IDPs— internally displaced persons. This means that thousands of people are now strangers in their own country. And that, most likely, means that someone else will decide whose bucket dips into the water fi rst.

Although ADRA rehabilitated several wells and boreholes in the area, the infl ux of 12,000 IDPs and their camel and goat herds has reduced water levels by half. That’s worrisome, if not alarming, when you consider that the next rain— the Gu seasonal rain—is not due for another two months. However, no one should have to wait around that long for water.

But some do. In Falanfay, a small village near the Bakool regional capital, Xuddur, people waited four years to see the water in their well. Nevertheless, after all that time, Ibrahim Golbow is thankful. He is 98 years old, a former shoemaker and a village elder. He has a good reason to be happy about the water. That’s because over the years he has become the father of 20 children— 14 boys and six girls. And he wants to see them live a long life, as he has. He says, “ADRA is the sun of our village. It has brought us water, which had been a problem for ages. I see hope on the way, and this is a good thing, you know.” Finding water when you need it most is in some ways an exercise in patience and stubbornness.

Take the plan of ADRA, for example. It’s a struggle against the harsh Somali landscape: picking a collapsed borehole, removing the silt from the inside, digging deeper into the earth, and restoring water yields to normal levels—all of this before moving on to the other 69 holes. One by one.

While other relief agencies are trucking in the water from the Juba River, a steady drink that meanders across the most droughtprone region in Africa, ADRA’s plan—funded by the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA)—is entirely set up to give towns and villages in the Bakool region—Garas Weyne, Elberde, El Dhun, Xuddur—a permanent way to get their water. Already, the UN Water, Environment and Sanitation (WES) committee is on the ground, so work can start immediately.

Soon, ADRA will carry out a geophysical survey and drill a borehole in Abal, a town east of Xuddur. Also, because that kind of assistance most likely won’t be enough, ADRA hopes to partner with Médecins Sans Frontières- Belgium to pump and pipe water from the El Dhun borehole to Xuddur, then build latrines in some of the most overcrowded villages, chlorinate water sources, and produce kitchen gardens at some of the rehabilitated wells to increase food production and give people better choices of food.

For now, however, the attention is on the holes. No one is celebrating yet.

Perhaps, if the people of Bakool fi nd the water before the water fi nds them, they will have time later, one hopes, for everything else.

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We traveled endlessly over long stretches of narrow, red, dirt road that wound its way through the flatlands of West Africa. It seemed like ADRA’s vehicle was the only vehicle on the road that day. I was excited because we were headed to remote villages in the Siguiri region of the Republic of Guinea. There, visitors are rare, and I had been told that ADRA’s visit would be a joyful event.

That’s not surprising; villagers only have one opportunity each week to leave the village when the ADRA truck comes to town! Moreover, an ADRA food security project is providing hope and life to villagers.

One component of that project is economic development. By establishing income-generating activities through small loans to women’s groups, individuals are able to create opportunities for their families. Increased family income can provide adequate, nutritious food, basic medical care, clothing and education.

Each time we drove into a Malinke village, women, children and men quickly emerged from their traditional homes (round huts made of dry mud walls and thatched roofs). They greeted us warmly in Malinke, the local language, shouting, “Inekay. Tanasite [Hello. Good Morning].” When we arrived in Mankity village, it looked like the entire village had been waiting.

Mankity’s women’s group gathered around the ADRA workers. Crowding in closely behind them were husbands, children, and other interested onlookers. Dembele, an ADRA worker from that region, explained to the women how the loans work and the terms of repayment. He also shared experiences and successes of women in other villages.

Manny Keita, a member of the women’s group there, has a success story of her own. Years of hard work etched into Manny’s face, could not hide her sincere desire to do her best to provide for her family six children ages one to nine years of age.

In addition to cooking, gathering wood for the fire, cleaning her hut, and caring for her children, Manny operates a small business. Six months ago, when the women’s group in her village joined ADRA’s program, she saw an opportunity to expand. She travels to the nearest city, 48 miles away, and purchases goods, which she sells for a small profit in the local market.

Nevertheless, before she could expand her capabilities, ADRA had to teach Manny how to read,write and do simple math. Seventy-eight percent of Guinean women are illiterate. Manny knew that she needed skills to run a small business and understand how to repay a loan.

Once she “graduated,” ADRA through the women’s group provided Manny’s first loan of $100. Her immediate challenge, the distance between her village and Siguiri where she buys her goods (48 miles) was overcome. Each trip cost $8, which previously made a deep hole in her income. In addition, she could only buy a few goods.

Manny says, “I used soup, peanuts, fish, eggs and corn at my house. But because I didn’t make very much in profit, I couldn’t buy many other goods to sell. ADRA’s loan increased my cash flow, and now I have a small store in the local market.”

Manny is grateful for ADRA’s help, and her thriving business enables her to take better care of her family, and make a contribution to her community. Others in her group have also opened small shops selling soap, lamp oil, dishes, clothing and gas.

The duku tigui, or chief of the village, has expressed his appreciation of ADRA, the US government, and people of America who made helped make this possible. “The ADRA loans have helped improve many of the small businesses in Mankity.”

“Our women see there are possibilities outside their own villages. When they first see how many documents they must complete to get a loan, they are discouraged. But it also teaches them the importance of literacy. This encourages them to send their children to school.”

Most importantly, the duku tigui said ADRA’s project boosts the women’s confidence. “Just seeing ADRA’s vehicle arrive is enough for them. If someone is willing to make the long, rough trip to Mankity to visit them, then they know someone cares about them.”

Not only that, knowing that ADRA believes in their abilities and is willing to trust them with loans, is beyond anything they could ever have imagined!

For Manny and women in villages throughout Siguiri, when an ADRA vehicle arrives, it is a symbol of hope.

Apart from that, ADRA had since 2002 also granted the blind farmers small scheme loans up to the tune of 27.6 million cedis to expand their agricultural activities.
 
Mr. Anthony Manooh, Technical Co-ordinator of Agriculture and Natural Resource Management of ADRA who presented the items expressed satisfaction at the performance of the farmers in soya bean cultivation, cashew planting and dry season gardening.
 
He challenged other physically challenged persons in society to take a leaf from the activities of the Karni blind farmers to engage themselves in productive ventures that would render them independent in society.
 
Mr. Manooh promised to offer them all the assistance they needed to harness their potentials to live comfortable and respectable lives in society.
 
Mr. Sampson Bediako Fordjour, Field Project Officer at Wa promised to supply them with grafted mango seedlings to add to other farming activities they were engaged in.
 
He called for regular meetings among them so as to come out with suggestions that could be useful for their development. ADRA also organised a three-day capacity building workshop for the farmers to equip them with technical skills and enhance modern ways of agriculture to improve on production.
 
The ADRA officials also educated them on the need to use improved seeds and prepare the land in line with modern trends that would increase field.
 
The participants were also taken through savings, record-keeping and the use of organic manure to improve yield and reduce cost of production.
 
© 2005 Copyright Ghana News Agency (GNA)

This article does not necessarily reflect the views of ADRA International

Green hills surrounded us and seemed to swallow up the road ahead. On each side, woman worked the fields either by hand with a small pick, or a plough pulled behind oxen. Little circular mud huts with thatched roofs dotted the landscape. We were on a 13-hour journey from Guinea Conakry to the far province of Siguiri.

It takes a little over 13 hours to arrive in the dusty village of Bambala. As we entered the village, population 686, children, women, and men surrounded us all talking the local dialect or French. The village was typical. Circular mud huts with thatched roofs were crowded up against each other with no apparent rhyme or reason for the way they are located in the village. The day is hot, and the sun showers its hot rays down mercilessly on us. Many of the women are dressed in colorful robes. We are led to the town square, which is a place where there are a couple large shade-providing mango trees. There we find the chief of the village, ministry of health service providers, ADRA health volunteers, ADRA health promoters, and the village men, woman, and lots of children.

For the next hour the community health volunteers proudly shows all they have learned during the past five years with ADRA. Their knowledge of primary health and nutrition is impressive. They show us with pride their “doctor’s emergency kit.” It is limited to basic supplies such as gloves, plastic towels, and sterilization solution. These few items, however, save lives. They showed us a book that had a pictorial report of the health status of the village. We could see by the pictures how many babies died each month and also how many babies were improving. All too soon the ceremony was over. As we left the village, the chiefwho had been very silentwalked over to ADRA’s country director for Guinea, Sharon Pittman. He said, “mama we are very sad, very sad.” He continued, “We are sad because ADRA is leaving us.”

ADRA’s health program in Guinea terminates on September 30, 2005. The chief said, “Before ADRA came to our village so many of our babies and children died. Now that ADRA has come we are healthier, happier, and our children are surviving.” I look into the eyes of the chief and could see such sincerity and love. I look around again at the children and know that many were alive and well because of the knowledge ADRA had given to this village in the heart of Guinea. Pittman said, “Even though ADRA is leaving, the knowledge you have gained will stay with you. Let’s pray also that the new project is approved.” The Chief smiled and said, “We will pray for ADRA every day.”

Later in solemn ceremony with the Governor of the State (Prefecture) it was so impressive to hear the outstanding confirmation of this political leader. He said, “You have come and made a difference in our area. The results of OUR program are outstanding. We look forward to working and cooperating with you on a new five year project. Please send our thanks to Washington as well.”

By Anthony Stahl, bureau chief for program management, ADRA International

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