Rehabilitation projects School project in Bay Region

Baidoa, Somalia

Project in numbers

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Project Summary

Somalia has been affected tremendously by long term instability and civil unrest. Extreme poverty and starvation are the main problems affecting the population. Most affected are the children who are often malnourished and have no prospects for their future. Many families try to find shelter and assistance in large refugee camps that are often completely overcrowded. In 1992 when AMURT arrived in Somalia, one of the most urgent problems was education as there were hardly any functioning schools in the country. Fortunately, the local population recognised that education and training were the most important factors in ensuring peace and a better future for their children.

Therefore AMURT’s prime target became providing children with education. The possibility of attending school in Somalia not only meant a valuable opportuninty to learn to read and write but also to provide these children the education and qualifications required to seek future employment someday. These children learn to think and act independently, and to influence and determine the development of their own country.

In 1993, AMURT decided to support the school system in Somalia in cooperation with other organisations. Working together with parents and communities, we constructed new school buildings. Land owners in the local community provided land for free. School committees were initiated, which included representatives for the parents and the village elders. These committees decided where to build a new school and determined together how the school would be effectively run. AMURT also handed out food in schools in order to improve the health of its students.

Due to the achievements of AMURT, more than 1,000 children now have access to school and nutrition.