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Mako Mayow, a 40-year-old widow and a mother of ten children, had to flee the conflict in Mogadishu back in 2009. Since then, she has been living in Kalkaal1 IDP in Burtinle town for the past twelve years. As the sole breadwinner for her family of ten, Mako takes on irregular casual labor jobs, such as washing clothes for local families in order to provide for the basic needs of her family. Unfortunately, Mako faces additional challenges, as two of her children suffer from osteoporosis, a condition caused by a lack of calcium and vitamin D, according to doctors. Despite this, she still manages to send eight of her children, including the disabled girl to Madrasa and school.
However, Mako constantly contends with the harsh circumstances to make ends meet and ensure her household's needs are met. The challenging circumstances, which occasionally even prevented her children from going to school, frequently left her feeling disheartened.
Notably, in the earlier months of Gu’ rainfall, two heavy rains affected her family as her house could not protect them from the rainwater due to poor roof conditions. During the two rains, they lost most of their food supplies and some household items. However, their neighbors helped them and collected food.
Mako's livelihood also suffered, as people were less likely to hire her during the rainy season. She struggled to provide for her family and even went days without earning due to limited movement when it was raining or flood prone. However, Mako's income from cleaning work varied depending on the season. In the dry season, she could earn 4 to 5 dollars per day, but in the rainy season, her income would drop to 1 to 2 dollars per day.
"There were days when I didn't earn anything, and I would return home empty-handed," says Mako.
In early May, the Burtinle local authorities identified Kalkaal 1 IDP as one of the most flood-affected sites in Burtinle. In addition, on March 24th, 2023, the UNHCR’s Protection & Return Monitoring Network (PRMN) reported that 780 households (approximately 4681 individuals) were displaced due to flash floods. Furthermore, the UNHCR report also indicated that flash floods have triggered the loss of properties, including crops, livestock, and businesses, and forced low-laying IDPs settlements to flee to higher ground.
In response to the flooding in Burtinle district in April 2023, the Norwegian Refugee Council, through the Somali Cash Consortium, funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), has provided three rounds of Multipurpose cash assistance at US dollar 110 a month to 1,240 families in Burtinle district.
Fortunately, Mako was selected to be one of the MPCA participants by the Village Relief Committee at Kalkaal1 IDP in Burtinle. Additionally, Mako had just received two rounds of MPCA, despite the widespread needs, which enabled her to cover the household’s food needs.
"I was wondering how I could borrow flour to feed my children when I received the first response from NRC," Mako happily exclaimed as she was stirring at the canjeelo, a pancake-like traditional Somali meal.
Now Mako is able to buy food for her family, repay debts, and pay her children’s madrasa fees. The cash has provided Mako and her family with the opportunity to restore stability and dignity to her family's life.
Mako finally concludes her words “I am very happy with the support received. I am no longer worrying about the burden of putting food on the table for my children. Since receiving the cash assistance, our life has positively changed, and this is evident in every aspect of our life because I was not thinking about my children going hungry or missing out on their education.”