(ERGO) – A rubbish collection company in Abudwak has brought welcome employment to this town in central Somalia’s Galgadud region, as well as prospects for a cleaner environment.
Mustaf Hassan Farah, aged 41 and living in a displacement camp, is one of 50 men and women employed as workers by the cleaning company established by three young entrepreneurs from the district.
Mustaf is on a team collecting garbage from Abudwak streets, loading it onto vehicles, and transporting it to designated burning sites.
The job that pays $180 a month has brought stability to his family after years of hardship.
“This job has changed my family’s situation in many ways. Though not all our needs are met, it has relieved a lot of burdens,” Mustaf said.
Previously, he worked as a casual labourer earning about $2 on the days he found jobs. He could only manage to provide household food supplies for 20 days each month, relying on credit for the rest.
With his new income since being hired in May, Mustaf has enrolled five of his children back into classes, after they had dropped out due to lack of funds. They are now studying in various grades from 1 up to 7, for which he pays $40 in monthly fees.
Mustaf’s family arrived in Abudwak from Fafan zone in Ethiopia’s Somali region two years ago. They had 60 goats and a four-hectare farm that supported them, although drought and water shortage followed by conflict ruined their livelihood and eventually forced them to flee across the border to Somalia.
They found temporary shelter in the IDP camps in Abudwak, which Mustaf plans to move his family out of whenever he can afford to improve their living conditions.
“We live in a makeshift shelter that can’t protect us from the rain. Our home is covered with pieces of clothing. We manage as best as we can, but resources are limited,” he explained.
Mustaf dreams of saving up but with a large family to support, nothing remains from his paycheck for now. He learned about this job from friends already working for the same company.
Meanwhile, Awil Mohamed Ahmed, 29, supporting a family of nine people plus his four siblings, has been since June as an administration officer for the firm, tasked with tracking and registering clients for cleaning services. He earns $220 a month and has managed to save $500 already.
“This is the best phase of my life. I finally have steady employment and financial stability,” he said.
“In the past, my family ate depending on what I could find, often just once a day. Now we have regular meals three times daily.”
He is paying $33 a month for his siblings’ school fees and has recently enrolled himself in a computer science programme at Ummadda University costing $20 a month.
Awil supports his parents, who live in the drought-stricken northern rural areas of Abudwak, by sending them food supplies of rice, flour, and sugar. He plans to start his own business one day to secure a brighter future for his family.
According to Mahad Muse Mohamed, one of the founders of Aamin Cleaning Company, their $50,000 investment in the firm has created jobs for displaced individuals and other low-income families.
“We focus on hiring the most vulnerable, including displaced individuals. Administrative staff must hold at least a high school certificate, while drivers are selected based on skills and responsibility. For general labour, we prioritise displaced people who have been struggling to find work,” Mahad explained.
Like many cities in the country, Abduwak is beset by problems of growing amounts of waste that are often dumped without regard for health and sanitation or the environment.
