Civil conflicts. Famine. Armed opposition groups. These are realities that the citizens of Kismaayo, a coastal city located in south-central Somalia, regularly face. Seeking refuge, many have escaped their homes in an attempt to find safety. But due to land unavailability and limited resources, these displaced populations often end up settling in poorly managed, congested, and impractical campsites.
Thanks to support from the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) under the Pilot Programmatic Partnership, ACTED supports local community governance to independently manage displacement sites and camps, while having the capacity to react to sudden onset displacement.
Training community members to manage informal campsites
Kismaayo hosts the largest internal displaced population in the region with a total of 133 sites hosting around 70,000 individuals.
ACTED and its Somali partner SADO have implemented a project aimed at training local community members in Kismaayo with campsite management skills.
In one such informal campsite, ACTED spoke to a member of the camp management committee, Iman, * who attended a capacity building training back in September 2020:
“The training covered topics such as community leadership, conflict management, fire prevention and safety measures, and gender based violence among other topics.”
The training was attended by 60 community members from 17 different sites.
The vice-chair person of the camp management committee, Amina, * explains that “these activities have equipped locals with valuable knowledge that will help serve the community better than before.”
Supporting internally displaced populations
Over a period of three years, ACTED will work with partners and local community members to support these displaced populations. The goal of the activities is to provide vital assistance, implement accountability mechanisms, and advocate for the needs of the most vulnerable.
Funded by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) under the Pilot Programmatic Partnership, these activities will support local community governance to independently manage displacement sites and camps, while having the capacity to react to sudden onset displacement.
*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
