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Somalia - Overview 

Mogadishu
Capital: Mogadishu
Area: 637,66 km²
Population: 8,6 million (July 2005)
Ethnic groups: Somali, Bantu
Official language(s): Somali
Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Currency: 1 Somali shilling = 100 cents

SOS Children's Villages' activities in the country


 

The initiatives of SOS Children's Villages in Somalia began in 1983 with the signing of a government agreement. A property provided by the government in the capital of Mogadishu was chosen as the construction site for the first SOS Children's Village and its adjoining kindergarten. In subsequent years a school, a youth facility and a mother and child clinic were established on the same property. When the civil war broke out in 1990, SOS Children's Villages started a major medical emergency relief and food programme.

The SOS Hermann Gmeiner School was converted into an emergency clinic. The mother and child clinic became part of the emergency relief programme. Today it remains the only functioning maternity ward and gynaecological care facility in the country. In order to provide SOS as well as other interested youths in Somalia with a professional training, the SOS Vocational Training Centre offers a three-year and a four-state-approved training for nurses or midwives.

For many years SOS Children's Villages was one of very few international relief organizations that were active in the south of the country. Clans and warlords were controlling Mogadishu and many parts of the country for a long time; during the first half of 2006 the Islamic Court Union started to fight them and expelled the warlords from Mogadishu. Although there was relative peace for the inhabitants of Mogadishu the security situation remained unstable for foreigners. The SOS Nurse Training School tragically lost its principal, Sister Leonella Sgorbati, who was shot by gunmen in September of the same year. Consequently all expatriate staff had to be evacuated.

War erupted again when the troops of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, together with Ethiopian troops, started to fight the Islamic forces at the end of 2006. Since then the fighting has severely affected the SOS families and staff as well as the SOS infrastructure: several colleagues and one former SOS child died by stray bullets and mortars, some colleagues and SOS youth were seriously injured. The SOS facilities were even occupied for several days, after that a long serving colleague was found dead on the SOS site.

Following heavy bombardment of the SOS compound and the neighbourhood early December 2007 all SOS families were evacuated and brought to other places in Mogadishu considered to be relatively safe. At the same time the SOS Mother and Child Clinic, the SOS Pediatric Hospital, the SOS Kindergarten, the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School and the SOS Nurse Training School also had to be closed for security reasons. The hospitals reopened in March 2008 and a satellite clinic at Afgoye, 22 km outside Mogadishu, was established in order to offer medical services to the many people who cannot come to Mogadishu. In August, a similar clinic in Baidoa Town was opened.  The school and the training centre also were reopened in a rented factory building in another part of Mogadishu. In October 2008 both facilities had to be closed again as the lives of several teachers and other staff had been threatened.
 
 

The withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in early January 2009 from Mogadishu and many parts of south west Somalia and election of the new Islamist leadership, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed on 31st January 2009 has not brought a conclusion to the conflict in the country. Insecurity remained widespread throughout Somalia.

Despite all these adversaries the year 2009 brought some hope for the SOS children and staff because they moved back to the Village during this year after having been displaced for a year and two months.

The security situation in the Capital Mogadishu and many parts of South Central Somalia continued to worsen as major fighting occurred between Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government forces supported by African Union Troops and the insurgent groups, killing and injuring scores of civilians and displacing thousands of residents. Heavy fighting was reported almost every week during year 2010 occurring between these opposing forces in many parts of the Capital. Sporadic mortar shells, stray bullets, targeted explosions and landmines remained major security concerns in the capital. This complex situation makes life difficult for the majority of the population who are women and children.

At present there are one SOS Children's Village, one SOS Youth Facility, one SOS Kindergarten, one SOS Hermann Gmeiner School, one SOS Vocational Training Centre, one SOS Medical Centre and one SOS Emergency Programme in Somalia.

 
 

Contact:
SOS Somalia National Office
Buruburu phase 1
Oleleshwa cresent
Nairobi
Kenya
Tel: +254 20 782104
+254 20 782423
Fax: +254 20 789744


Country Information on Somalia
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