A new start through business
Somalia | 2021 | CBPF
Somalia, Gedo region. Dressed in pine green aprons, people walk between shelters in Beled-Amin site, Hawo district, Gedo region, lugging wheelbarrows full of garbage. Armed with gloves and rakes, they spread across the camp, collecting plastic bags and other litter strewn about the shelters.
Another group is cutting down overgrown bushes and shrubs in another section of the camp. They are part of the Cash-for-Work program started by Northern Frontier Youth League-NoFYL and funded by the Somalia Humanitarian Fund. The project improved conditions in the displacement site while providing cash transfers to vulnerable community members.
Among them are two women – Xamaro Qoriyow, 60, and Simaan Ismacil, 41, – who combined their monthly stipends and started a joint retail business that has become a success.
“I have always wanted to start a business to support my family, but this was impossible because I did not have money. I lived in debt and had no support except from my neighbors. Sometimes we skipped some meals,” said Xamaro, a widow raising ten children (7 girls and 3 boys).
Simaan initially suggested the novel idea of combining the monthly stipend to start a business.
“I spoke to several women participating in the camp cleaning exercise, but only Xamaro accepted my idea. We agreed to put aside some money every month so that we could start a business.” Over the next three months, the two women saved enough money from the monthly incentive to start a small retail shop in Beled-Amin site. They can now make a decent living for their families.
“Can you believe we saved money for three months, and now we have our own business?” asked Xamaro. “Thanks to the cash for work program, I am living my dream of owning a business. We sell everything: food items, clothes, shoes, soaps and liquid shampoo. If we had space here, we would bring camels here and sell them!” she laughed. “Our family’s needs are now covered, and I don’t depend on people for assistance anymore.”
To supplement their income, the two women bought solar battery chargers and set up a mobile charging system in their shop where people charge their mobile phones at a small price of $0.1. In a day, they can charge up to 50 mobile phones. This helps them pay rent for the shop and cover daily food costs and other basic needs. They are now planning to expand their business and sell fruit and vegetables.
More information on the Somalia Humanitarian Fund:
OCHA -POOLED FUNDS DATA HUB – By Country (unocha.org)
https://www.unocha.org/somalia/shf