Flying

EC1a

EC flight 1a, a small Cessna charted by the European Commission, as it flies over north-western Kenya.

The Kenyan aviation authorities will not allow any flights directly from Somalia to Kenya, having little trust in the security of the failed state’s airports.

So whilst a flight out to Hargeisa or Mogadishu can be fast, coming back is somewhat slower. First landing at Wajir, in the arid scrubland near the Somali border, everyone—and everything—must be brought off to be checked and scanned.

Then once again, the Cessna takes to the skies, bound for Jomo Kenyatta International.

Karibu Kenya.

Economics

Economics

Much of Somalia’s economy is based on livestock, and the camel trade still forms a big part of people’s lives here. Every week in Hargeisa, there is a large camel & livestock market that draws throngs of people.

Losing their land

Losing their land

Ahmed Isse and Abdi Youssef Hussein are farmers in Somaliland’s rural Gabiley region. Concern Worldwide came out to discuss with households here their needs, and to find out more about how these people live. Whilst walking around their land, staff were surprised at the techniques that these farmers used to maximise water use, and reduce erosion in their fragile soils. Traditional methods can be very effective.

But at the edge of their agricultural land, disaster is creeping closer. Fields of sorghum suddenly give way to a small canyon, as the land has collapsed due to soil erosion. Cracks are spreading closer to the fields, and farmers here fear that they will lose more of their land.

It is issues like this that Concern’s livelihood teams can help to prevent, and the reason for our visit today.

Somaliland

Somali(land)

Somaliland. Not really a country, but certainly not Somalia.

The self-governing state declared independence almost twenty years ago, they have their own, democratically elected government, but they are still awaiting international recognition.

Whilst many NGOs cannot operate in South Central Somalia, they aren’t shy about moving into Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital.

I’m here for a few days, documenting some of Concern Worldwide’s work here, as they open up a new office. They’ve been in Somalia proper for nearly 25 years, and are expanding northwards.

Traveling North

It was an arduous journey that seemed to span several days. As the bus bounced along the dirt roads north of Malindi, taking on armed security as we creeped closer towards the Somali border, my bum was crammed into the aisle on an upturned Coca Cola crate, the space between the seats either side of me marginally smaller than my seemingly child-bearing hips.

But several hours later, the masses poured out of the bus, and into the boats that ferry visitors over to the main island of Lamu, in the eponymous archipelago. Engine oil is washing about our feet as the lush green mangrove islands sit on the calm edge of the Indian Ocean.

And there began a whole new pace of life. Not a single car runs on the island - donkeys being the only form of transport, aside from the bare-feet that ply the cobbled streets.

Far from the madding crowd.