Are we getting uniform when the school opens?

Eleven-year-old Fatumo stays in Ainabo IDP camp in the Sool region of Somalia. Fatumo lost three years of school. The 2017 drought destroyed all her family’s livestock and left them not able to pay for her education. The family was forced to flee and settled at the camp in March 2017. Unfortunately for Fatumo, her joy to start school was delayed again as for 2 and a half years, the camp had no learning center. Her family could not afford to enroll her in the community school in the town, neither could they afford to buy her the essential learning materials needed for her education.

Ainabo IDP Camp was established in 2017 as a result of the huge influx of IDPs due to droughts and conflicts in the Sool region. CARE with funding from ECHO, has established two learning centers through the construction of eight temporary classrooms and also provided teaching and learning materials, female hygiene kits, desks and supported six teachers with incentives and training.  

The two learning centers started operating in September 2019 and by the end of March 2020 they had an enrolment of 863 pupils from grades 1 to 3.  Having a school near her home which she can attend for free has been a great relief for Fatumo and her family. Before schools closed in Somalia due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she would go to school every day and spend time learning with her friends.

During a monitoring visit to the centers by CARE team in March 2020, the pupils were grateful for the assistance they received from CARE. They however expressed their desire to be a school like other community schools around them. The pupils do not have uniforms and have to go to school in their normal clothes and they also do not benefit from school feeding like other community schools.

 “We would want school uniforms so as to be recognized as pupils like other girls in the other schools. We will be respected and supported by everyone. Our agemates in other schools say we are not students because we don’t have uniform.” said Fatumo

 “Our school also has no school feeding program. Children in other schools eat food from school to add to what they get from their homes. Every day I come to school, I have to leave early to go back home and eat. Once I leave school, I do not come back for that day as I will be tired. Both school meals and uniforms would help us a lot to stay in school and perform better in class.”

“Are we getting uniform when the school opens? I am worried that without uniform, I may not go back to school as I have no good clothes too,” she added

Yususf, Fatumo’s father said “A uniform costs USD15-20 and I cannot afford that. I have to make sure my family also has something to eat at the same time. It is really difficult for me.

Similar requests have been regularly raised by the teachers who are eager to see their pupils in uniform and also enrolled in a school feeding program since the children are from poor households, who lost their livestock in the recent droughts and have no jobs and skills to secure jobs.

Sainab Ahmed Jama, headteacher for Ainaba IDP Camp learning center said:

"All these pupils are from this IDP camp and they are from very poor households. Most of the children do not go for a break, or if they go, they do not come back for that day. We kindly request for support with the school feeding program. This will help increase enrolment, retention, and overall performance of the school. Unfortunately, some faint in school due to hunger caused by not eating for a day or even more.”

“In addition to the school feeding program, we also request school uniforms for the pupils to ensure they are safe and supported by the community members to and from school rather than being shouted at and harassed. This will generally improve safety and protection at all times."

With support from the EU Humanitarian Aid, CARE, and partners are targeting 56,000 school-aged children between 6-18 years who are mainly from IDPs and destabilized communities affected by droughts and conflicts in Somalia. The project is being implemented across 18 districts in seven regions of Somalia/Somaliland in Somalia. The major objective is to enhance education opportunity access for school-aged children who are out of school and also those at risk of dropping out of schools due to the various disaster crises in Somalia. CARE is establishing learning centers and providing incentives for the teachers. More support is needed to ensure the pupils get uniforms and are also enrolled in the school feeding program.