Radio Ergo - Humanitarian News From Somalia
  • Home
  • Topics
    • Latest Stories
    • IDPS/Refugees
    • Natural Disasters
    • Health
    • Social
    • Food Security
    • Education
    • Agriculture & Livestock
  • Programmes
    • Locust Programme
    • Farming Programme
    • Radio Doctor Programme
    • Women Programme
    • Entertainment Programme
  • About Radio Ergo
  • Contact Us
  • blankSomali
  • blankEnglish
No Result
View All Result
Radio Ergo - Humanitarian News From Somalia
  • Home
  • Topics
    • Latest Stories
    • IDPS/Refugees
    • Natural Disasters
    • Health
    • Social
    • Food Security
    • Education
    • Agriculture & Livestock
  • Programmes
    • Locust Programme
    • Farming Programme
    • Radio Doctor Programme
    • Women Programme
    • Entertainment Programme
  • About Radio Ergo
  • Contact Us
  • blankSomali
  • blankEnglish
No Result
View All Result
Radio Ergo - Humanitarian News From Somalia

Overcoming the odds to stay in school in Garowe IDP camp

Radio Ergo by Radio Ergo
June 13, 2019
in IDPS/REFUGEES, LATEST STORIES
0
Overcoming the odds to stay in school in Garowe IDP camp

Asha with her youngest children at home in Shabelle camp. Abdirahman Aatoh/Ergo

0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

(ERGO) – As part of our IDP camp series, Radio Ergo visited one of the IDP camps outside Garowe in Puntland. In this report, we profile the challenges and achievements of a mother from an ethnic minority group, the Somali Bantu, who overcame the odds to ensure her son had an education and a career.

Dalmar Abdi, 23, nearly dropped out of school several times as a young boy growing up in one of Garowe’s internal displacement camps, but he now stands at the blackboard teaching mathematics to children in one of the schools in the same camp.

Dalmar’s struggles have been magnified by the fact that he is from an ethnic minority group, the Somali Bantu. He has had to learn to cope with constant discrimination.

“When I first became a teacher, I was taken to second grade and I was told to introduce myself to the children and get to know them. I went in while the students were making noise and when I walked in they all went quiet and started to stare at me.

I realized they were all surprised. I heard some say, look at the Somali Bantu. I smiled, as I had already learnt how to deal with these racial slurs when I was a student!” Dalmar told Radio Ergo.

Dalmar, who completed a primary teacher training course at Garowe Teachers Education College in 2014, owes his education largely to his tenacious mother, Asha Elmi, who worked tirelessly to ensure that he had a bright future.

The family arrived in Garowe 21 years ago, fleeing destitution in Qallafe in Ethiopia’s Somali region.

Asha enrolled her first born Dalmar at Kaalo primary school when he turned six. Classes were free in the first two grades, but subsequent classes were offered at a fee of 120,000 shillings (around $6) and Koranic classes were an extra $4 a month.

Asha recalls how hard it was for the displaced families to mingle with the local residents in the city. Her family faced discrimination due to their features. She took jobs in garbage collection and cleaning to support her husband’s small income.

At that time, the camp was in the city, before the Puntland government relocated all IDP settlements to the outskirts in 2012.

“When I felt that I might miss paying the school fees, I would let my colleagues at the garbage collection keep my money so I wouldn’t end up spending it, that is how I managed to save for their education,” said Asha.

Some of the other camp residents gave encouragement and protection, and even chipped in for Dalmar’s school fees. But he almost dropped out several times to join the other boys who were on the streets earning a living instead of studying.

“There was an incident when I almost resorted to shoe polishing. I worked there for two days, I think I was in grade five. My mother knew about the superiority of education and she helped me get back to school. I would see my fellow students come with pocket money, I thought I should make some money,” he told Radio Ergo.

Asha took steps to protect her son from the bullying and persecution of other children.

“I gave him a lot of time: I used to walk him to school and come back to sit in front of the school gate when he came out. Once the head-teacher asked me why I came to school every day. I said I needed to escort my son to and from home. I explained to him the discrimination my son faced, and he promised to put in efforts to make the other students friendly,” she explained.

Two decades on, their life in the camps has not changed much. They now depend on Asha’s small earnings, as her husband left to live in Garowe with another wife.

Previous Post

Young woman electrical engineer in Garowe inspires children to turn to science and technology

Next Post

Invasive trees hurt livelihoods of Somali herders and farmers in Sool

Related Posts

Female, Photography, Humanitarian, Somalia, news
LATEST STORIES

Talented young Somali woman quits cleaning job and takes up photography

August 19, 2022
Arday Somali
LATEST STORIES

First time in school for Kismayo children from poor backgrounds

August 18, 2022
Hirshabelle bomb blast set back Jowhar farmers already hit by crop failure
LATEST STORIES

Hirshabelle bomb blast set back Jowhar farmers already hit by crop failure

August 16, 2022
Somalia live news, Somali live news, Radio Ergo news, Humanitarian news, Conflict
LATEST STORIES

Conflict causes displacement and rising food prices in Somalia’s Bakool region

August 16, 2022
IDP, Drought, Families
LATEST STORIES

Buffeting winds compound misery for IDP families in Adado

August 15, 2022
Lack of health care in Mogadishu IDP camp causes suffering for young Somali mothers
LATEST STORIES

Hunger haunts Somali pastoralist families in Mudug

August 12, 2022
Next Post
Somalia live news, Radio Ergo news, Humanitarian news, Somali live news

Invasive trees hurt livelihoods of Somali herders and farmers in Sool

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

DAILY PROGRAMMES

Radio Ergo · Radio Ergo 2020
Radio Ergo Weekly Newsletter
We respect your privacy.

TWITTER

Tweets by RadioErgo
#4d8fcc
blank
blank
blank

© Copyright 2014 - 2021 Radio Ergo

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Topics
    • Latest Stories
    • IDPS/Refugees
    • Natural Disasters
    • Health
    • Social
    • Food Security
    • Education
    • Agriculture & Livestock
  • Programmes
    • Locust Programme
    • Farming Programme
    • Radio Doctor Programme
    • Women Programme
    • Entertainment Programme
  • About Radio Ergo
  • Contact Us
  • blankSomali
  • blankEnglish

© Copyright 2014 - 2021 Radio Ergo