Somalia
Ann Arbor-area Somali community comes together to end a drought
By
Jan 18, 2010 - 11:13:26 AM

Water insecurity is a particularly serious problem in the Puntland region of Somalia, where the nearest water source is about 40 miles away - roughly the distance between Ann Arbor and Detroit.

The people of Puntland have to travel the distance by foot, oftentimes with their children and the family's cattle.

Last year, Ann Arbor's Abdishar Geyre resolved to end the drought.

After forming Relief for Africa, an Ann Arbor-based non-profit, he approached Plymouth-based Mercy-USA for Aid and Development and asked for help. Puntland needed wells if the region was going to survive.

Mercy-USA agreed to aid in the project and see the job through on the condition that Relief for Africa raise half of the $34,000 needed to build 5 wells and repair 3 others.

Today, Relief for Africa presented Mercy-USA with a check for $17,000. The work of helping people of the Puntland region gain regular access to water will soon begin.
Somalia.jpg

Mercy-USA provided household kits and water jugs to displaced Somali families in 2009.

Courtesy, Mercy-USA for Aid and Development

Mark Bowden, the United Nations' Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, once said, "a large proportion of the population are losing their livelihoods" due to water insecurity. Lacking a water source of their own, the people of Puntland are forced to rely on rainwater. The drought of the last 2 years has made life hard.

"Parents don't take their kids to school (or participate in recreation)," said Abdullah Saed, president of the Somali Community of Michigan. "People are just trying to survive and have enough water for themselves and their cattle."

Mercy-USA was founded in 1986 with a goal of "alleviating human suffering and supporting individuals and their communities in their efforts to become more self-sufficient."

That approach is why Relief for Africa had to come up with half of the money. In its effort, the organization reached out to the Somali diaspora community and anyone else who would listen. With donations ranging from $10 to $2,700, mostly on the small side, Relief for Africa was able to raise the funds itself.

One donor from the United Arab Emirates asked if he could foot the entire bill. Relief for Africa refused, wanting its success to come from a grassroots effort, rather than one deep pocket. That man still made the single largest contribution, but, as Geyre said, tapping both the local and global Somali community to give back had its own benefits.

"Some of our youth had become very Americanized, apathetic," Geyre said, adding he was touched when one of those youth donated $10 to the cause. "We are not rich. But we care deeply about our homeland, and our young people care too."

Umar Al Qadi, president of Mercy-USA and a University of Michigan alum, said the organization has missions ongoing in Africa, Asia (Lebanon and Indonesia, where Mercy-USA set up shop after the 2005 tsunami), and Europe (Bosnia). Mercy-USA also partners with other organizations in Pakistan and Albania to build schools. In Pakistan, construction on an all-girl's school was completed in 2008, and the all-boy's school is now nearing completion.

Still, Mercy-USA usually prefers to do aid work itself, a point discussed among the organization's leadership after Haiti was struck with a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday that killed an estimated 50,000 people.

Mercy-USA has fielded phone calls from donors asking whether it would help provide relief for Haiti, but no decision has been made yet.

"We don't have any operations in The Caribbean at this point," Al Qadi said, adding it would be tough to establish and resource such an outpost in a timely fashion.

After the check ceremony, Al Qadi said he would e-mail Mercy-USA's office in Nairobi, Kenya immediately and tell officials there to start planning for the well work in Puntland, Somalia. The planning team will then let Al Qadi know what kind of timetable the project is on.

Smiles filled the room as the money to relieve Puntland's drought changed hands. But all sides were insistent that much more work remains before the livelihood inherent in water security will return to Puntland.

"This is not a day for celebration," said Abdrishid Gary, a member of the local Somali community present at the ceremony. "This is only the beginning - the real work has just started."

James David Dickson can be reached at JamesDickson@AnnArbor.com .

Source: AnnArbor.com