Around 1,300 former pastoralist women who moved to Mogadishu IDP camps have been employed at Deegaan-dhowr, a local company offering cleaning services in the Somali capital.
Safiyo Abdi Hamud, 40, is one of 850 women pleased to have found a job. As a single mother her $250 earnings are helping her put food on the table for her children.
“I’m earning a good income now and I can pay off my rent, bills, and children’s education. When I got this job our situation really improved,” she said.
She moved out of the IDP camp five months ago after saving up from this job to pay $70 rent for a two room house. Two of her children are at Imamu-Shafi school in Dharkenlay district, were she pays $30 for their education.
With her hard work and determination to improve her life, she was promoted in August as a supervisor over a group of female workers assigned to provide cleaning services at Shafi hospital in Mogadishu.
“I was previously a hands-on worker and now I’m the supervisor working with 30 people. I was chosen because of my good work and honesty. I’ve now got a good opportunity to raise my children and give them an education,” she said proudly.
Safiyo was displaced from Awdhegle, Lower Shabelle, in 2016 after losing all her 35 goats. With no livelihood, she left behind her three room house and two-hectare farm and migrated to Mogadishu.
When she joined the camp, she walked around residential areas looking for house-keeping jobs. Finally, in mid-2022, she heard about the cleaning company from her neighbours. She borrowed the $60 needed for the company’s required health checkup. She is saving hoping to start her own business in the future.
Salmo Abdullahi Hassan, 18, was also hired by the company. She earns $150 a month and can now provide meals and tuition fees for her three younger sibling’s education.
“I now provide food for my family as before we had no one to support us. I support my mother, thank God. I’ve made progress in my life. I take care of the rent and everything!” said Salmo.
When she applied for the job, she needed $60 for the health checkup and was forced to sell her phone for $90. But she knew this job would change her family’s life.
“I sold my phone because I had nothing else. I couldn’t get anyone to give me money for the health check-up. My father and mother separated and they’re both struggling. I bought a second hand phone using my first month’s salary for $60,” she explained.
Salmo dropped out of school a year ago after finishing middle school because the family could not pay further fees. She hopes to resume one day.
“Education will benefit me and my children in the future. I normally finish my work at 4:00 pm and I would like to join a private school and continue my education in the evening,” she said.
Human resources manager for Deegaan-dhowr, Abdinajib Salad Muse, said the company was established in 2015. Their experience is that women perform better than men hence they have focused on hiring more women employees.
He said staff are trained in using the equipment in the workplace and in customer relations. He noted that most of their employees were displaced by drought in Hiran, Bay and Bakool regions.
