By Abdullahi Jamaa
Standing inside her little shop, a mellow smile beams from her cheerful face as Abdia Abdullahi narrates how cyclical droughts have devastated her county before the rains pounded Kenya’s Northeastern region last year.
In Sala village east of the border town of Mandera where residents are enjoying a respite from the turbulence of hard scrabbling life occasioned by a ceaseless four-year drought, Abdia is trying to rebuild her life.
Just like many other villagers, Abdia felt the heat as inundating dry spell almost brought life in the remote village to a standstill. Depending on livestock that were not fetching any penny, throughout the harsh season, the local residents survived on the edge.
Abdia doubted whether after the ravaging drought life will return back to normal, just like millions of others in the Horn of Africa region where famished families eke out a living in the most deplorable conditions.
“I never thought I would be able to recover after the drought” said the versatile 38-year-old mother. “I was on the brink of despair”
The dreadful dry season was so harsh that at the peak of it Abdia’s family sold off all their remaining livestock at throw away prices. Their herd became so valueless that there was no point of keeping them any longer. Undoubtedly, it was the best decision at that time.
“We faced a severe inability to meet basic needs such as food and water. The impact of the drought was devastating” Abdia said “Many families sold their livestock at throw away prices”
Sedentary life
Falling back to sedentary life at the village where economic opportunities are almost non-existent, Abdia faced the trouble and vexation of tough life. With three young kids to feed she endured a cosmos of biting poverty.
Recovering from the impact of the harsh seasons, she is now trying to earn a modest livelihood selling essential commodities in her makeshift shop that has come in handy to support her family.
At least to the standard of the village, she is able to put food on the table as she tries to leave nothing to change in her insatiable pursuit for a better life. She just has to spend more time in her shop and steadily increase her stock.
Thanks to Rural Agency for Community Development and Assistance (RACIDA) a nongovernmental organisation that has come to calm villagers’ desperation, offering cash relief to jumpstart their life once again.
In much of parched and bare Northeastern region, women bear the brunt of shifting seasons often finding themselves vulnerable. With RACIDA’s support, Abdia is nursing a brimming hope that her economic situation will be better for good.
She is a beneficiary of a benevolent cash transfer programme dubbed Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) in which RACIDA with funding support from the International Organisation for Migration, designed a programme that sought to assist the most vulnerable families who have been affected by the drought.
“After a thorough assessment of her family situation by the community leaders, Abdia was deemed eligible for the cash transfer program” says Ahmed Hussein, RACIDA’s communication officer “The cash transfer was disbursed in two batches within four months (December 2023 to March 2024), with each family receiving 10,501 Ksh per month”
With the timely financial support Abdia and her family were able to gradually recover from the shock of the drought. The multi-purpose cash assistance not only provided her with immediate relief but also empowered her to start earning income.
RACIDA’s support is a powerful manifestation that targeted cash assistance can help in rebuilding lives after a period of relentless drought especially for vulnerable groups like women and people living with disabilities.
Admittedly, Abdia finds the financial support as crucial to rebuilding her life and a path to securing a stable future. As she navigates village life in earning a decent living, the bubbly mother lauds RACIDA’s initiative to help villagers like her recover from the devastating impact of droughts.
“The cash transfer programme implemented by RACIDA gave me a second chance to start a new life and provide for my family. I was on the brink of despair, but the support from RACIDA allowed me to invest in business and an earn some income” Abdia says
“The cash transfer helped her purchase food, water, and other essentials for her family. With this support from RACIDA, she was able to keep her children in school, seek medical treatment for her family when needed, and even start a small kiosk selling food and non-food items” said Ahmed Hussein
Elsewhere, in the rural village of Kobe Turiti, situated in Burduras within Mandera’s Banisa sub-county, Amina Hassan Ibrahim narrates yet another compelling testament to resilience amidst adversity. Just like Abdia in Sala, Amina’s story illuminates how the organisation’s generous cash transfer programmes support local residents.
Coming out of drought, Amina navigated her village’s economic hardship, struggling to provide for her family in the face of scarce resources. Seemingly trapped in a cycle of unabated poverty, despair loomed large in front her eyes until RACIDA came calling.
Amina is a beneficiary of Integrated Life Saving Project, supported by USAID and implemented by RACIDA, where she received a total of Ksh 13,123 per cycle, through seven cycles of cash assistance.
With the financial support, Amina utilised the seed capital, established a small shop, not only generating income for herself but also fostering social cohesion and economic activity within her community.
Hussein, the communication officer from RACIDA says of her “Amina’s life underwent a noticeable change. Quite liberated from the constraints of poverty, she emerged as a beacon of hope, inspiring those around her with her resilience and determination to succeed against all odds”
Humanitarian footprint
RACIDA’s humanitarian footprint in addressing the impact of abject poverty resulting from the adverse effects of climate change extends to the porous borders of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.
The UK government, through the Danish Refugee Council and RACIDA supported a total of 3200 households across the triangle (Khorof harar, Giriley, Diif Somalia, Diif Kenya, Elwak Kenya, Elwak Somalia, Dollo Somalia and Dolo Ethiopia, supporting 400 households from each settlements through provision of multipurpose cash assistance.
Mrs Mahfuda Mohamed Ibrahim, a mother residing in Elwak Kenya, takes on to narrate how her household benefitted from Deris Wanaag (good neighbourliness), a cross-border project seeking to enhance peace and stability, and strengthen social and economic dynamics, in the border areas between Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.
“After I was displaced by the floods, I was registered by RACIDA team and started receiving KES 19,959 plus withdrawal charges through mobile transfer which is effectively addressing my basic needs” she said.” Mahfuda said
“As a mother I feel proud and sleep well knowing very well that my children will have something to eat in the morning, at least some pancakes and chapati not black tea only”
Thanks to RACIDA, Mahfuda is now back to herding, trying to increase her herd of goat through the cash she received from the project. She has great hope to improve her living standard.
“I managed to buy some goats through the cash, it is my hope that they will reproduce to establish economic base for my household” she said
The stories of Abdia, Amina and Mahfuda epitomise the potential for empowerment and community support to effect meaningful change in the lives of local residents many of whom are grueling under the weight of prevailing climate change catastrophes.
“I don’t underestimate the little support we get from RACIDA” Abdia finally says
About RACIDA
Rural Agency for Community Development and Assistance (RACIDA) is a regional non-profit organisation headquartered in Kenya and with country programmes in Ethiopia and Somalia. Our goals are to provide human assistance, build resilience, promote peace and security and gender empowerment.
Founded in 2001, we work to build the capacity of vulnerable communities living in arid and semi-Arid lands across the Horn of Africa region in preventing and mitigating the impact of humanitarian catastrophe including the ravages of climate change.
Anchored by a Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction (CMDRR) approach, and guided by our belief that the communities we work with should be at the centre of their own development trajectory, we implement practical programmes that enable (Agro)-pastoral development, empowerment and wellbeing.
Our mission is to enhance self-reliance and prosperity amongst vulnerable pastoralist communities living in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands through promotion of better livelihood systems, sustainable use of natural resources and community empowerment.
RACIDA currently implements projects across the Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia under six core programs guided by our three strategic goals: Providing Humanitarian Assistance, Building Resilience, and Promoting Peace and Security.
RACID ON WEB: www.racida.org RACIDA ON FACEBOOK: RACIDA RACIDA ON TWITTER: @RACIDAofficial
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