Background To The Report

This report is looking at developing routes of return for Somali speaking refugees. It came about as a result of a visit by Libaan Rabilah, a Somaliland native living in London and Paul C.O'Keeffe, a friend and worker with Refugee Community Organisations in London.

It focuses on the region around Borama up as far as the border with Djibouti as this is the home region of Libaan, and it offers the opportunity to address the development imbalance that has seen most agencies stay around the capital city Hargeisa. It also looks in detail at the Lughaye district, which is very inaccessible, but could be the site of micro development work that could act as a model for other small communities.

One of the premises of the report is that uneducated unemployed Somalis are unlikely to return home. Therefore serious efforts must be made in the UK to address the underachievement of Somalis in the education system in the UK, and the chronic unemployment that is affecting the community.

Another premise is that Somali people who do choose to return home must always have the option of returning to the UK. Not all will manage to succeed in the new Somaliland, and the unfortunate reality is that there is still the possibility that war can break out again. The safety net of an easy return to the UK, a country of which they are now citizens, must always be there.

Having said that, Somaliland is now a country that offers tremendous opportunities for Somali people from all parts of the former Somalia. The people are friendly and open, the landscape is just amazing, the economy is thriving, and the government is not very interfering.

Infrastructure is very poor and there are underlying currents of corruption. There must be at least decent education and healthcare available if people are to begin considering coming home. However, people are very aware of this and want to use democracy to eradicate these problems. There is much that the Somali population of the UK can offer to Somaliland, and there is certainly just as much that the people of Somaliland and the country of Somaliland - undoubtedly soon to be the newest African nation - can offer the Somali Diaspora.

This report identifies some actions which the Somali Diaspora, Somali Refugee Community Organisations, International Non-Governmental Organisations, Donor Agencies and Foreign Governments can do to address some of the problems in the country and make return for Somalis more likely and more successful.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Libaan Rabilah, Zehra Osman, the people of her home, and her large extended family without whose help and hospitality this trip and report would not have been possible, and Ahmed Hadi Said and family who supported the trip throughout; Mohammad Farah Elmi, an Amoud University Graduate working with AWDAL Sports Club who showed me around Borama and introduced me to everyone; Dr. Ahmed Hassan Matan and Dr. Ismail Mohammad Ayeh of Borama Hospital; Professor Suleyman Ahmed Guled of Amoud University; Ridwan Mohammad Osman, Barkhdel Hossein Guhad, Ahmed Mohammad Alahi, graduates of Amoud University; Dr. Nimco Sheikh Abobakar of Borama Hospital, Ikran Hadi Daud of Awdal Women's Group, ; Siyad Omar and Abdirahman Ahmed of Ayoda NGO; Singer Amina Farah and her band; Abdi Farah Elmi and Abdi Shakur Hussein Maydane Drivers, Abdi Nasie and Ahmed Ali, drivers mates, Bashir Abdi Mumin, Abdi Kadir, Said Abdi Bile, policemen Abdi and Mohammad, Bilal and Ahmed Abdi Kahin of Lughaye, and the people of Lughaye.

ISCOM Trust

ISCOM Trust is a refugee community organization and registered charity. It was formed in 1994 to work with and on behalf of Somali refugee and asylum seekers in London. ISCOM provides a range of community based services which meet immediate needs such as immigration and welfare advice, translation, interpretation and advocacy.ISCOM Trust is run by a team of volunteers and is very much user led.

The constitution of the Trust states that the aim of the organisation is to work with Somalis in the UK and in Somaliland. This trip and report represents the first work of the organisation to formalise the work in Somaliland that individuals from the centre have been doing for a number of years and to try to get support from groups in the UK, aid agencies and other NGO's to begin work in Somaliland. One of the premises of ISCOM Trust is that the most cost effective way to begin the development work is to channel aid through existing individuals and groups in the country.

Somalis In The UK

There are no specific studies made on the statistics of the Somali population however, estimates from different sources acknowledge that up to 90,000 Somalis live in the UK, and the most significant portion of those live in the London. They are concentrated in the east London Boroughs Of Hackney (7,000) and Tower Hamlets (15,000), and in West London in Ealing (15,000). Many Somalis have been dispersed in line with new government asylum policies.

Following the collapse of the Somali state in 1991, and the subsequent displacement of it's civilians as a result of the civil war, the mass migration of the Somali population resulted in their resettlement throughout the world, and in particular in the UK, due to Great Britain's past colonial role in the former British Protectorate of Somaliland. The existence of the community stems from the earlier arrival of Somali men, recruited as seamen by the British colonial administration, who settled in London Docklands, and other sea ports like Cardiff, Liverpool, and Bristol.

The Somali community is a young one, as the bulk of its population arrived in the early 1990s. There are many communities with high levels of need and support. But the newest arrivals, like Somalis now, often get overlooked for services and resources They are also at risk of additional disadvantages, because of not coming from an English speaking culture, with all the social and educational difficulties that brings. The problems faced by the community in resettling in the UK and their achievements in their short history is a testament to their determination to become productive members of their adopted country.

However the Somali community has increasingly found itself confronted with the dilemma of a divergence of views and attitudes between first and second-generation members of the Somali community. This is a dilemma encountered by other more established black and minority ethnic communities.

Anecdotal evidence says that up to seventy per cent of the Somalis in London as well as in other towns in UK are single mothers and their children. The reason is that when civil war started in Somalia mothers ran away with their children to safe countries and men remained to fight.

The existence of single parents, without the presence of the other elements of the extended family and community that support women in this situation in Somalia, has caused tremendous problems in the community.

Many Somali families have elderly relatives, whom they look after 24 hours a day because there is no Somali elder, whether disabled or not, who lives alone. In some areas 70% are unemployed, in more up to 90%. They go to their own community centres for support and advice and have great difficulty accessing mainstream services. There is also evidence that the community is being criminalized and is represented disproportionately in mental health services.

However, growing numbers are setting up small businesses in telecommunications and retail and are beginning to graduate from the colleges and Universities of the UK.

Somaliland

Somaliland has been stable now for going on ten years. While the rest of Somalia has been caught up in the struggle which has destroyed Mogadishu and thrown the rest of the country into chaos, the former British Protectorate of Somaliland, the region to the North of the country, bordering Ethiopia and below Djibouti, has been experiencing a return to civil rule. There is a population of between 3.5M - 4 M. In 2003, there were Presidential and local elections and a multi-party democracy is developing. 2005 will see parliamentary elections where 600,000 Somalilanders will vote. While there were problems in some areas, notably in Puntland - the territory to the south, close to Somalia- in general, international observers judged the last elections to be free and fair. With the development of civil rule there is now a desperate need to build basic infrastructure that would create at least a functioning health and education system. Further economic investment would enable the country to tap the many natural resources and begin to capitalise on these.

Education in Somaliland

The Government of Somaliland has practically no tax base to draw on so expenditure on services has, in a lot of cases, been left to the private sector. The government is not hampered by an ideological commitment to state funded education that had been the feature of many African countries that gained independence in an earlier age.

There are said to be about 354 primary schools and 30 intermediate (secondary) schools, with a total enrolment of 96,201 students, of these 4380 are in intermediate schools. There are two Universities, in Borama and Hargeisa. In 2004, 1200 sat GCSE exams to qualify for a university place in Borama. Around 200 will get in. There are currently 2346 teachers in the system. There are quite a few private schools in the urban areas, and most have a good reputation such as Sunshine, Al Aqsa and Hargeisa. In the public sector, the pupil teacher ratio in primary and intermediate is around 60 -1. There is usually one textbook shared between 3/4 pupils, very basic lab equipment for science and practically no other resources. The pupil teacher ratio in the private sector is only slightly lower, but almost all are qualified with degrees, attend regularly and receive salaries on a regular basis which makes them more motivated and creates a more positive attitude.

There are always more male students than female students, in general around 70%/30%, which increases as you progress through the education system. In many of the courses at the University it is less than 1%. The ratio is a little better in Hargeisa, and in the Eastern region of the country, where there are fewer schools anyway due to the instability, the proportion is worse. There is one female only school in Borama, but in general the government supports a policy of co-education. There are no specific initiatives to encourage female retention in the primary and secondary education system.

There is a standard curriculum set by the Ministry of Education and which almost all schools follow. The exams also come from the Ministry, supported by the Centre For British Teachers (CBT) an English NGO which supports secondary education, sets GCSE exams for all schools, including the private sector and helps with resources, teachers and textbooks. There was a scheme bringing teachers from Egypt before, but this ceased recently. There is hope that it may resume again soon.

The number of students is increasing year on year, schools are too small and there are generally not enough of them. Borama is known as the home of education and the main state secondary school was built there in 1970. Four more private secondary schools have been built since the war in the 1990's. These serve the whole region up as far as Djibouti.

The rural/ urban balance for schools is though to be about 20%/80%. Education is a major cause of urbanisation. Rural students are though to have greater motivation, set targets for themselves, are less distracted by urban life and in general have a whole community back in the village behind them.

In all of the primary schools identified in the field trip, the government does not pay salaries or any other costs. Government has not reached that far into the country yet. All costs are met by local people and businessmen, fees paid in the form of animals, and the Somaliland Diaspora.

Health In Somaliland

Nationally there are 10 hospitals employing 132 qualified medical staff and 47 health centres with 125 posts. However, not all of these are functioning and salaries for all posts are not regular. Access to primary health care is not easy for most people, therefore many fall victim to treatable and preventable diseases. Most village health clinics were destroyed in the war. Medical supplies are available only in the private sector and are beyond the financial reach of most people. Life expectancy is 47 years, among the worst in the world. Deaths in childbirth are common. TB is a major problem, as is malaria, and there is an emerging STD, HIV and Aids problem. Only 31% of the population have access to safe drinking water. There are also nutrition related illnesses especially among the new urban poor.

People have shown a willingness to pay for health care and this system is now making some hospitals and health centres sustainable. Government is paying salaries in most urban hospitals and foreign agencies and the Somaliland Diaspora are developing some support measures. However salaries for rural health workers are irregular or non-existent, services are hard to find and available medicines are mostly out of date. There is also a growing problem of self-prescribing through the private pharmacies.

Mental health is a very serious issue with anecdotal evidence of almost every family having one person, usually male, chained up at home suffering from some form of mental illness. Some of this can be put down to the pervasiveness of Khat which almost every male chews every day. Services are very rough, with a mental hospital in the capital Hargeisa, but even in there, services are poor. Most people opt to keep sufferers at home where they can at least be fed and provided with basic care. All the health problems associated with Khat have yet to be properly investigated. Apart from the obvious impact on mental health, research so far identifies stomach and bowel problems, oral cancer, and other oral health problems associated with sustained use.

The Somaliland Economy

There are four main sectors to the economy as identified by the government of Somaliland: Livestock; Agriculture; Fishery; Employment and the Private sector. The major livestock are cattle, camels, goats and sheep. Around 70% of the population depend on livestock. A recent crisis, which saw the Arabian Gulf states halt imports of Somaliland livestock, has created tremendous problems. There are also issues of overgrazing, the lack of a regulatory system to ensure quality and lack of agricultural services in rural areas to prevent urban drift.

Priorities identified by the government to address these issues include: support for small scale poultry operations; developing veterinary services, animal health workers and access to drugs; rehabilitating abattoirs and developing internationally recognised standards of animal health; developing milk, leather and other animal by-product industries; other initiatives to create rural employment.

Erosion is seen as the major threat to the agriculture sector, as is urban development. There is a need for agriculture extension services to promote modern farming methods and to develop new crops that can provide a balance of produce for the home market and for export.

Somaliland has a long coastline and rich fishing grounds that are often exploited by foreign vessels. Major species include groupers and horse mackerel. The industry within the country is practically non-existent and output is negligible at about 1000- 2000 tonnes per year, about 2% of the potential. There are an estimated 170 boats in the whole country and production has not yet caught up with pre-war levels.

Priorities for this area include: legislation to protect and develop the industry; agreements with neighbouring countries to regulate the industry; developing a modern coastguard to protect the industry; infrastructure development including roads, landing beaches and cooling plants; data collection and studies of the marine industry, human resource development; licensing of the industry and provision of equipment.

Somalilanders are showing tremendous initiative in developing the private sector in all areas of the economy. The retail sector is booming, but has problems such as an oversupply of common items and a few large businesses dominating some markets.

There is a lack of capital to develop industry and the infrastructure of the country is in a terrible state. The market is dominated by imports and the natural resources of the country are not being processed and sold at home or abroad. More than 50% of households derive some income from micro-enterprises. The returnees are providing skills and ideas that can develop the sector. There is not a strong regulatory environment so businesses have freedom to operate and develop.

Borama

Amoud University

Moves began to set up Amoud University from around 1994. They had their first student intake in 1999. It is a source of great pride for Borama and the nation as a whole to have managed to set up and run a University under the most difficult of conditions when the country was going through some serious upheaval and the threat of war was constant. During the whole of President Said Barre's regime, the only University allowed to function was in Mogadishu where tribalism and excessive costs made it very difficult for people from this region to attend.

The state currently gives the University a grant of US$8,000 per year. The average monthly running cost is between US$10,000 - US$12,000. With 35 full-time lecturers on US$300 per month, all the other auxiliary staff, a total student enrolment of 380 each paying US$300per year - due to rise to US$400 this semester-, medical students pay higher fees. It is clear that the maths of the University do not add up. It is dependant on other donations and gifts.

There are three faculties medicine, education and business. In the 2004 cohort there were respectively 27 students, 18 students, and 49 students. There are also 60 students studying part time for two year teaching diplomas. Intermediate schoolteachers are University graduates, study for 4 years and on graduation can expect a salary of around SS250, 000 US$30 -US$40 per month. In the private sector they can expect to earn up to US$120 per month in Borama, and up to US$300 in Hargeisa. In 2003, the first year the University produced teacher graduates, there were 7 graduates, in 2004 14 and in 2006 they expect 25.

There are links with University of Hargeisa, a memorandum of understanding was signed recently with Pretoria University in South Africa, and there are links with Al Jazeera University in Sudan and Kings College London for medicine. A support group in Henley-On-Thames helps the university with grants, books, computers and other support.

The library, another great source of pride, has over 100,000 books including the latest textbooks for medicine, business and education. There is a computer suite with over 50 computers that is heavily used on a schedule basis by the students. There is no Internet connection, but United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank have promised to connect the University next year. There is a need for a much larger computer suite when the enrolment which currently stands at 314, rises to around 700.

The most pressing need at the moment is for lecturers in almost every area, particularly in the Faculty Of Education for maths, physics and chemistry, and in the Faculty of Medicine for pathology, endocrinology, neurology and haematology, and of course the resources to pay them. There is also a need for laboratory equipment.

There is heavy competition for places. There was an entrance exam until recently, now it is purely on national GCSE results. As stated previously, this year 1200 sat the exam, 200 will get in. There is a dropout rate of 33% after the first semester, usually due to the fees, and a pass rate of around 50%. Of the 10 females who started in 1999, 7 got married or emigrated, and only two completed their degrees. Strategies to address this include affirmative action programmes for women. There are currently 12 scholarships, 6 of which are reserved for women who do not have to compete against the male student body for these. There are programmes to sensitise the community to the need for females to get educated. The Teaching diploma programme currently has only 7 females out of 60; the target for this year is 30. The current female enrolment is 17% and the aim is to get that up to 33%. Many students who do drop out gain employment anyway, the pass rate is gradually improving and the feeling is that as the University develops the pass rate and retention rate will improve. While the University does it's best by having strong links with its graduates, retention in the country is as issue for the government, businesses and the whole community.

There is no official recognition of the degrees from any other countries, but many students go overseas and take exams and get qualified to work in other countries. The standard of education is good enough for that to be working with graduates so far. UNESCO does recognise the degrees.

All students carry out research as part of their degree and the University is building up a fair amount of information which is useful to local and central government and International NGO's working in the country. This has not generated any income as yet as this strategy is still at an experimental stage. It is envisioned that in a few years time it will be possible to develop this as an income-generating element of the University.

There is no real business or development plan in place as all plans are limited by resources and would not reflect any meaningful reality. However there are plans for a Faculty producing graduates in the fields of agriculture, geology, and the environment. There are also hopes to extend an arm of the University to Seylac to develop Marine studies. The University operates very close to the community and needs to do slightly untraditional work. It is hoping to develop short courses for local entrepreneurs and business people, and would like to facilitate business development as it did with the four separate water companies who used to supply the town and which have now merged to form one, more efficient company.

There are 6 elders and intellectuals who form the board of directors; there is an Academic committee, a Disciplinary committee, and a Technical committee Management of the different faculties comes under the academic committee. No member of the local authority sits on the board.

One of the very noticeable things about the graduates is their attitude to the University, education, the community and their work. Their positive approach to everything is almost palpable. Some of this is of course down to the newness of the University, but much of it also must be put down to the transparent management style of the staff team, their openness to the students, and their commitment to make sure that every penny spent in the University benefits the education of the students.

Discipline is light and the emphasis is on correcting and improving behaviour and performance, not punishing. The student body is active and involved in decision- making and the government does not interfere with the running of the campus or with the thinking going on in the University.

Borama Hospital

The hospital currently serves the whole region up to the border with Djibouti, a population of around 350,000. There are 68 staff, 7 doctors, 23 nurses, 14 auxiliary nurses, administrative staff, cleaners, cooks and laundry staff. There is a 100-bed capacity. The government pays only for the salaries. A doctor gets about US$40 per month. It is impossible to live on this salary so most have practices and pharmacies in the town. All other costs - mainly running costs, ambulance, diagnostics, and medicines must be met by the hospital itself. There is a small charge for outpatients - Somaliland Shillings 2000 (about US$0.32) and for inpatients Somali shillings 15000 (about US$2.40). There is also a cost for each diagnostic test. There is no other source of income.

The pharmacy is to all intents and purposes empty. Most medicines are out of date. Medicines used to come from an Italian NGO - COOPI International, however that source is no longer stable since the killing of Annalenna, an Italian nun shot dead in the hospital grounds two years ago.

Most surgical equipment is second hand. There is no x-ray, though one is due to come from the American Diaspora. The laboratory, which is the largest in the district is housed in a small room and can do very basic tests for HIV, malaria, Hepatitis B+C, TB and urinary tests. There is no other diagnostic equipment.

Eye surgeons come twice per year from a Kenyan based NGO, Kikuyu Eye, and carry out about 450 operations per visit, mainly for cataracts.

There is a referral system to the hospital in Hargeisa, but no other support such as sharing staff skills and expertise, visiting surgeons or sharing of resources. There are no links to any overseas hospitals. Hargeisa hospital has some links to Kings Hospital London.

Amoud University has strong links with the hospital and there are moves to make Borama a teaching hospital. The first group of 7 trainee doctors is in Year 4, there are 11 in the second group and 15 in the third.

No education programmes are run from the hospital as this is seen as a role that local organisations can play. A Youth organisation, ACARO, pay for a cleaner and the safe disposal of medical waste.

Power for the hospital comes from their own generator, but the regular cost of oil is a major problem. A new generator is due to come from the diaspora in Dallas. The hospital pays a local private company for water.

A management board of 11 people including the regional medical officer, some elders, intellectuals and one member of the local council, runs the hospital. There is no business plan for the hospital where the monthly budget is around Somaliland Shillings 13-14 Million per month (US$1700 - $2300)

Borama Women's Group

Report on meeting held in Borama Hospital Conference Hall 29th July 9.00am. About 50 women in attendance, many from the Diaspora in London, America, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Holland.

After the welcome, introductions and prayer, the mayor of Borama addressed the meeting. He spoke about the advances that the people of Borama had made, particularly about the planting of trees to make the area more attractive. He also spoke about the need for major improvements to the roads. If every family overseas bought a can of tarmac, it would have a major impact on the streets of Borama that are currently in a terrible state.

There was much debate amongst the women and it was pointed out to him that people had collected money before for rubbish collection and nothing had come of it. They did not trust the local authority to spend the money effectively. A decision was made to collect the money by the women, to arrange a system whereby money could be send to women in Borama, and that they would arrange for the payment of work for the roads on a contract basis, with no payments being made without the work being done. This would ensure that the money would not disappear. A representative was appointed from each country in the Diaspora who would have responsibility for the collection. The Borama representative will visit London in the near future to reassure people that money was being used effectively.

The second speaker was a Somali Canadian Dr. Nimco Sheikh Abobakar who had returned after many years in exile. She explained how when she had come to the hospital there was nothing. Even still resources are so scarce. There is only one proper maternity bed, no surgical gowns, no clothes for the women delivering children to wear, no sheets for the beds, nothing. They make do with what they have.

There is a major problem with HIV and AIDS, and even when people are informed that they are infected, they refuse to accept it. There is no medicine for treatment.

The third speaker spoke about the issue of mental health. Almost every family has at least one member who is suffering from mental health problems. Many sufferers stay in the home tied up in chains, as this is the only thing families can do. She spoke about the case of one women who brought her child to Hargeisa mental hospital, and after three months she visited him and had to take him out again as he wasn't even being fed properly. At least at home in chains he gets fed. There are many mentally ill people wandering around in the streets of Borama and there are absolutely no facilities for them. She also spoke about the need for a separate prison for young offenders, as at the moment, if a young person is sent to jail he has to mix with all the older inmates where he is vulnerable to abuse, drugs and many other bad habits.

The fourth speaker spoke about the local orphanage that started from nothing, and now even had a car. There are beds for 140 orphans, clean sheets and enough food. Even local people who cannot afford school fees send their children there as day pupils and the orphanage can cope. This speaker said that she was aware that the two main priorities were the hospital and the roads, if after that people could provide support she would welcome it, but as it is now, the orphanage is working ok.

Non-Governmental Youth Organisations in Borama

One of the other things that Borama is famous for is the problem that is associated with youth in the city. There is a very young population and you can see young people on the streets most hours of the day and night. Much of the youth conflict is focussed through the many football teams. The University carried out research into what were the causes of this conflict.

There are over 2000 young people involved in football teams. There is one useable football pitch. Fights started between groups of youth around whose turn it was to use the pitch. This fed the conflict and has made football matches a bit of a problem.

In 1994, there was a working sports centre with basketball, indoor tennis, table football, coaching, seminars and a major programme of sporting activities. This centre attracted large numbers of youth and violence was not perceived to be a problem at the time.

The centre was then stripped of its equipment by the main person responsible for the centre and all activities ceased. It is now a Khat chewing house.

In recent years, graduates of Amoud University began setting up youth organisations to tackle these problems. There are now 16 registered youth organisations, each with a different focus, 4 of them very active, and the others are at various stages of development. A decision was made in June this year to band these organisations together into an umbrella organisation. A committee of 7 has been formed and they are working with 32 people from the organisations to develop this structure. Some of the activities of these include:

AWDAL Youth Development Association..Established 2003

Focus on Environment

5/06/03.............. Celebration of International Environmental Day
9/03.................. Research into charcoal consumption
18/09/03........... Conference on Environmental Degradation in Borama Municipality
10/03................ Survey on taxes in Borama Municipality
10/03................ Planted over and distributed over 500 trees around Borama
10/03................ Mobilization to control soil erosion in villages around Borama
11/03................ Sanitation Awareness Programme with restaurants in Borama
23/12/03............ Conference for housewives on charcoal use
30/12/03............ Plant trees on highway between Borama and Dila Ongoing School for 50 poor children of the city

AWDAL Sports Club...........Established 2004

Main focus on sports and fitness

- 9 Basketball Tournaments
- 5 Sports seminars
- 3 Training sessions for 15 females/ 40 maales
- 15 referees trained Coaching and referee training

Regular Orientation for local community
Research department to promote positive attitude to sport 1 research carried out "Negative attitude to sport"

Finance department
ACARO...............Established 1999

Main focus on health

- Pays one cleaner at the hospital
- Safe disposal of hospital waste
- HIV awareness programme

Somaliland Association for Youth Salvation (SAYS). Established 2000

Main Focus on education and sports

- 2 Football tournaments
- 1 Basketball tournament
- Entertainment, education through drama, ppoetry
- 3 major productions in central Borama
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MOONLIGHT.........Established 2002

Focus on Women

- Sanitation
- Seminars on health
- Seminars on garbage collection
- Encourage women to take part in discussioons
- Pushing for the women of the Diaspora to channel money through women.

Lughaye

Field Trip

Our field trip took us from Borama in the west of the country to Qunojeed (pop. 5000), Boon, Xalimaale, Weerar, Dhoobo, Fadhiwanag, Farda-lagu-xidh, Lughaye, Seylac and Barisle. With some diversions that we made to visit Lughaye, this is the main road to Djibouti which is a French-speaking Somali country, and which is the source of many of the imports into Somaliland. Drivers on this route make the journey about once a week. It takes around three days to make this round trip of about 400 kilometres. Temperatures along the coast often reach 45 degrees, and 40 degrees is standard in the hot season. The roads to these villages are extremely rough, passable only by 4-wheel drive vehicles that no matter what the state of these vehicles, they require constant maintenance at every stop. Spare parts are a major problem and they seem to stay on the road only by the ingenuity and hard work of the drivers and their mates.

Each of the smaller villages has a population of around 200 families and serves around another 200 nomad families who live in the surrounding regions. In most of the villages there is a relatively new school built by locals with support from the government. Salaries for teachers are a major problem as they are not regular and are very low making it difficult to attract teachers. In Boon there are pit latrines built by UNICEF and there is a bee-keeping project supported by an English NGO. There was no evidence of aid in any of the other villages.

Lughaye village

Lughaye is a small coastal village about 200 kilometres to the north of the main port of Berbera. The water supply broke down some time ago and locals are now drinking saltwater. The Danish Refugee Council is going to supply the village with piped water from 18 kilometres away, though judging by the size of the pipes, it will not be a very powerful water supply and it seems to be taking considerable time to complete the project.

Most of the government buildings in the town were destroyed in the war. Mines in the surrounding area are a big problem and regularly kill camels and goats. No attempts have been made to clear them.
Education

There is a primary school that was built in the 1920's and refurbished in 1994. The salaries for the teachers are maintained by regular donations from overseas. There is a World Food Programme initiative that feeds the children who attend school. Parents who pay two goats per year meet the other costs of the school. The primary school children are at least catered for in some way. There are three main groups that need education in the village, secondary school children, the "lost generation" and adults.

The nearest secondary school is in Borama. Most cannot afford to send their children there. The people of Lughaye want to develop vocational training in carpentry and other trades so that at least there is another option for those who complete primary school. The "lost generation" are those who missed out on education during the war and who now have no real option other that hanging around the village doing nothing or joining the ranks of the uneducated unemployed in Borama or Hargeisa. These also would benefit from any vocational training initiative. The school buildings are under utilised and could double as an adult and vocational training space. Adults have expressed an interest in learning computers and would respond positively to any learning opportunity. Any improvement in educational facilities would attract the many nomadic families into the town to use them, would encourage them to send their children to school at least some of the time and would provide the means to persuade them to invest in their children's education.

Health

There is a very basic medical unit with a pharmacy with medicine supplied by UNICEF. There is no permanent medical staff. Complications in childbirth are one of the most pressing issues. There is no ambulance and the nearest hospital is in Borama. There is not even a fridge to keep medicines fresh, no sterilisation equipment and no other diagnostic equipment.

Industry

There is no industry and therefore no employment in the town. An attempt was made to harvest salt that is of high quality and is in abundance in the area but without the appropriate technology, transport and marketing, the co-operative of twenty people failed to sell a single bag. This was very discouraging for the people and has had a negative effect on the willingness of people to invest labour. There is enough fish in the area to support a thriving industry but without boats, freezing or canning facilities and transport, every effort to make this sustainable has failed. Boats from the Arab states and even Japan often come and steal the fish, and with no coastguard to protect the waters the people can do nothing. The beaches are immaculately clean and the seawater is clear and unspoilt, although waste sometimes washes up on the shore which locals think may be toxic.

There is a large wreck just off the coast which broke down in Djibouti and which the Americans dragged and dumped here. One individual was paid compensation and he skipped with the money. The people and government cannot complain.

ACTIONS

Action For Borama

Education

This element of the project would support a summer scheme whereby teachers and education workers and students would travel from the UK for 6 weeks in the summer time to support identified schools in Somaliland.

It would facilitate Somali-speaking students to return to these schools for a period and give them a taste of education in their homeland.

For the first project, it is envisaged that pupils would be selected on the basis of having family close to the schools they would be attending. In this way there would be cultural forces brought to bear on them around behaviour, attendance. This would also reduce costs.

There would be an induction period of one week when the Somali schools are on holiday, and then time for Inset days for teachers delivered by the UK teachers and the Somaliland teachers.

Project management

While the deliver of the project would be for a six-week period, the lead in time and follow up would be considerable. It is not easy to get to Somaliland. Once there, issues will arise which would need support.

- Actions necessary
- Arranging schools
- Arranging with Ministry of Education
- Arranging flights
- Arranging accommodation
- Immediate Outcomes

Somali speaking students would gain academic skills in their mother tongue, taught by education professionals that are expert.

Somaliland teachers would gain experience from teaching a wider range of possibly more challenging pupils and developing strategies to deal with this. Links between schools in the UK and in Somaliland could be developed which would lead to direct sharing of resources.

They would share practice with UK teachers that would improve teaching strategies in the UK.

It would provide an opportunity for Somalis to return to a part of what was once their country as they are currently unable to return to Somalia.

The curriculum in Somaliland and in the UK could be enhanced and improved to recognise cultural diversity.

Parents in the UK would feel more able to consider the option of a return to their homeland for their children.

The funder would have a very visible project, with well-defined outputs and outcomes that were relatively easy to measure.

Long-term outcomes

1. NGO's in the UK would be convinced of the safety of returning to do development work in Somaliland. A pattern of support would be developed which could be picked up on by existing NGO's.

2. A model of support would be developed for students deemed to be failing in the schools in the UK.

3. Project work would be developed which would support education in both countries throughout the year.

4. UK teachers would be attracted to overseas work.

5. Somalis in the UK would be attracted into the teaching profession.

6. Joint curricula would be developed which would make Somali an option for exams in the UK, and which would inform the curriculum in Somaliland.

Outputs

4 x teaching staff x 5 weeks in Somaliland
4 x students x 5 weeks in Somaliland

Budget

- 8 x flights x  700                             5,600
- Accommodation 8 x                              350 2,800
- Resources                                      2,500
- UK Teachers pay 4 x 5 weeks x  250.00          5,000
- Somali Teachers pay 4 x 5 weeks x  125.000     2,500
- Management and administration in London        6,000
- Management and administration in Somalilaand   4,000
- Publicity                                      2,000
- Transport in country.                          1,500
- Total.                                         31,900.00

Already secured are a teacher's kit and 8 student carpentry kits, 8 sewing machines and 8 typewriters for one of the secondary schools.

During earlier conflicts, particularly the 1970's war with Ethiopia when around 1,000,000 Somaliland people were displaced, a model of vocational training was developed with UNHCR and the Danish equivalent of the ODA, DANIDA. This involved expatriate trainers coming to the country for short periods of time - 1 to3 months - and working with Somaliland people with skills in the various trades, particularly carpentry, bricklaying and other construction trades, who would then work in schools as the vocational trainers. These trainers would be able to work in schools provided with tools from Tools With A Mission, and also produce essential resources for the schools in the local area, in the form of desks, seats etc.

This project, in order to be developed needs to be picked up by an international agency capable of supplying all the resources necessary to make it work effectively i.e. workshop supplies for classrooms to provide carpentry and other vocational lessons - workbenches, clamps, tables, nails, timber, screws etc, salaries and costs for instructors to provide vocational training, salaries for Somaliland nationals working in the schools as vocational trainers.

Tools With A Mission will also agree to provide sewing machines and typewriters if the project is seen to be reaching the schools. These elements are a bit easier to work on, as they do not require as much resources to develop successfully. To begin with, the initial donation of tools will be provided to one school and monitored to see if, with the limited resources available it is possible to gain some benefit from this approach.

- Agencies to be targeted
- Euro Refugee Fund, Tools With A Mission, ODA,
- Resources For Schools
- Textbooks
- Blackboards
- Library for schools
- Resources for tables and chairs which cann be produced locally - could be linked to vocational training project
- Recreational/play equipment, footballs, vvolleyballs, basketballs, sports kits,
- Student resources - pens, pencils, paper,, exercise books, maths sets, rulers
- Support for in-service training for teachhers

Agencies to be targeted

UNICEF, Various, sports associations, stationary companies, local libraries, International Extension College, London University

Action For Borama Hospital

The specifics of the requests for support for Borama Hospital come from a presentation made by Dr. Nimco Sheikh Abobakar to representatives of the London diaspora in September 2004. Resources to meet some of these requests are being channelled through the women of Somaliland as identified at the meeting reported above. Already monies have been collected.

- More beds
- Fully equipped emergency room
- A blood bank
- Equipment for an orthopaedic department <
- Resources for a mental health department
- Generator
- Medical supplies
- Resources for running costs
- Agencies willing to engage in regular opeeration blitzes
- Drugs
- Laboratory equipment
- Vehicle support costs
- Support to be able to identify equipment,, resources and systems to help to establish and run the various departments and maintain supplies and equipment

Agencies to be targeted

- London Diaspora, International NGO's, Royyal London Hospital, Homerton University Hospital, St Bartholomew's, Gt. Ormond St Hospital, Kings College Hospital, Henley Borama Friendship Association.
- Action For Youth NGOS in Borama
- Resources to develop the sports centre inn the town
- Resources to develop football pitches in the town
- Sports kits as prizes for competitions annd tournaments
- Footballs, volleyballs, basketballs

Support for capacity building for umbrella organisation to develop the work of these NGO's.

- Agencies to be targeted: Diaspora, sportts and youth organisations, Comic relief, other International NGO's

Action for Lughaye

Already secured are a teacher's kit and 8 student carpentry kits, 8 sewing machines and 8 typewriters.

What is needed is money to rehabilitate one of the buildings to turn into a vocational training centre; solar panels for the school, the vocational training centre, the medical centre and as many other buildings as possible; an ambulance, or if the cost of this is prohibitive, at least a salary for a midwife/nurse to be permanently stationed in the village.

Business support would include a fishing boat and all the means to either freeze or can the fish, and transport; a processing and bagging plant for salt.

Budget Midwife salary................ US $150 per month
Building rehabilitation..............US $2000
Vocational trainers salary...........US150 per month
Solar panels
Various Installation of panels

Agencies to be targeted: Tools With A Mission, Solar panel producers, International NGO's

Bibliography

- Somaliland: Democratisation and its Discoontents, International Crisis Group, ICG Africa Report No.66 Nairobi/Brussels, 26 July 2003

- Republic Of Somaliland Ministry Of Planniing and Co-Ordination, Somaliland Economic Overview June 2004

- The Statistical Abstract Of Borama Municiipality, Economic and Project Management Committee, Borama Local Council December 2003

- Primary Education Needs In Somaliland, A report on a consultancy mission for Save the Children(UK) and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports Jo Bradley, Mohamed Abdirahman Mohamed, Robert Smith, International Extension, College March 1992, Distance Education Institutes

UNESCO Conference on Distance Education
Ministry Of Education Somali Democratic Republic
Mr. Mohamed M. Farah
1990

Appendix 1 Borama Statistics (Source: The Statistical Abstract Of Borama Municipality, Economic and Project Management Committee, Borama Local Council December 2003)