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Guricel, Somalia – 24 November 2024 – Guricel district in the Galgaduud region of Somalia has been facing an unrelenting water shortage exacerbated by failed rains following the longest drought in the Horn of Africa. According to OCHA, nearly three million people and livestock succumbed to the drought, crippling the pastoralist economy and turning neighbors against each other in the scramble for scarce resources.
Recognizing this need, WARDI in partnership with Caritas, through the GFFO Project, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, sank a deep borehole in Diriye Hassan village, 40 km east of Guricel town, to serve the remote drought-stricken community and neighboring villages.
For Nur Hanshi Sheikhdoon, a 46-year-old camel herder from the village, the borehole will end years of unresolved conflicts with the neighboring communities, sometimes going as far as into Ethiopia in search of water and pasture for his herd. “We once sought water and pasture for our camels.
We were in a group of about 30 men from Diriye Hassan – myself included. Twenty of them were killed,” he recounted and continued. “We risked our lives because we were thirsty. Our camels were thirsty. We were looking for water and pasture for our livestock. We are Grateful to WARDI for giving us this borehole because as long as we have water, I believe the camels will chew on the branches of trees and drink from here.” Pastoral groups are often compelled to abandon their homes in pursuit of water. More than 300,000 people were displaced by the drought in the Galgaduud region between 2021 – 2023. According to the UNHCR-led Protection Returns Monitoring Network (PRMN), women and children make up 80 percent of displaced populations.
Anfac Mohamud Hanshi, a mother of four girls, knows these horrendous journeys too well. Until a month ago, she was constantly on the move with her flock of goats and young girls. “The goats drank from ponds but they dried up.
The water was green (with algae). The goats would refuse to drink it because they mostly became sick.
They would sometimes drink it and at times refuse,” she narrated. “The water from the borehole is much safer and cleaner because it is not contaminated with mosquito eggs. The water that we stored underground was dirty and breeding grounds for mosquitos and germs, but we drank them regardless,” said Rukia Abdirahman Elmi, a beneficiary of the borehole.
The borehole is fully equipped with water troughs for livestock use, tapped fetching points for human consumption, a generator room equipped with a diesel-powered backup generator, and solar technology to power the borehole. This will reduce the shocks of climate change, improve the livelihoods of the locals, and encourage them to venture into farming to complement their income. “WARDI responded to our immediate needs. It drilled this borehole for us and equipped it with solar power, a diesel generator, and water pipes for undisrupted supply. We are excited and our people are overjoyed,” Village Committee Spokesperson Hirsi Shire Jimale said.
The scarcity of water, resulting from climate change, is generally seen as a substantial obstacle to human civilization and a hindrance to the attainment of sustainable development. Beyond providing water, the GFFO project is helping to reduce conflicts over scarce resources and restore hope to a community devastated by drought and displacement. Through these efforts, WARDI, in partnership with the German Federal Foreign Office and Caritas, is playing a vital role in ensuring long-term resilience and sustainability for the victims of climate-related disasters in Somalia.