(ERGO) – Getting a job at a dairy processing firm in Mogadishu has given a fresh start to farmer Mohamud Hussein Nur and his family, who have been financially ruined and displaced to the capital by conflict and drought in Lower Shabelle region.
Mohamud, 38, his wife, and their eight children arrived in Mogadishu from conflict-hit Buulo Mareer in Lower Shabelle with almost nothing.
He was hired in February by Dheef Dairy that makes yoghurt and cheese from cow’s milk. He was desperate for income. The company also offered him and his family temporary housing, after their escape from clan fighting in the rural areas.
“The salary is enough for my family. I earn $250, I don’t pay rent, and my children eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so they get what they need. When the fighting broke out everyone fled.
The woman who hired me said since your children have fled with you, bring them directly and settle in these rooms near the processing plant. That’s how I moved in. May God bless her,” he said.
Mohamud joined as a trainee to learn about yoghurt processing and was soon offered full employment, allowing him to save $20 a month and prepare for a more stable future.
His income enables him to support relatives in Buulo Mareer, where on top of the conflict, drought has left the farmland bare and reduced their herd from 60 to only 20 cows.
He has enrolled five of his children and relatives’ children in Koranic classes for $25 a month.
“My children go to school now. Before it was difficult. Back home sometimes we could pay the teacher and sometimes we couldn’t. The fee for all the kids together was about 50,000 Somali shillings, around two dollars, and the teacher accepted it because the situation was difficult. I also pay the school fees for my orphaned nieces and nephew. My wife’s relatives are also there, and since I’m the one working, they look to me for support,” he said.
Mohamud arrived in Mogadishu ahead of his family and spent six months at a relative’s house searching for work. Compared to the uncertainty of life in Lower Shabelle, he said their current life resembles that of many low-income families in the city who manage their basic needs through steady income.
Dheef Dairy was set up by a Somali woman who returned home from living in the United States.
Dahabo Hassan Mohamed, 48, was also hired in March, cleaning and preparing meals for the management and staff. She now rents a small house for $30 a month.
“Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you understand how good that is! I am settled now, thank God, I have peace of mind. When the month begins, I go and shop for my children, and they cook their meals. I’ve even moved out of the single room we lived in, and now we have two rooms,” she said.
Dahabo and her children lived in a cramped room with relatives after being forcefully expelled from Hargeisa in 2021. They briefly stayed in Galkayo before returning to Mogadishu, where they had first fled in 2012. After her husband died, she took odd cleaning jobs to support the children.
This dairy company job allows her to send two children to Ali Hussein free school while covering $15 a month for her relative at a private English-language school.
“Whatever I earn goes to their schooling. Just yesterday I was told to bring $16 for exams and I paid it. If I didn’t work, where would I get that money? We had nothing before as we were displaced,” she said.
“My husband worked in the north until we were all expelled from Hargeisa. They told us to leave and gave us 45 days. Before the deadline, I left as I couldn’t just allow myself to wait to be beaten. I quickly gathered our things and left with the children.”
Sadiyo Ali Hassan, from Budbud, Galgadud region, has been working with the company since May. As the eldest child supporting her family, she sends home $150 from her $200 monthly salary.
“I am the backbone of my family. I work and struggle for them. Whatever I earn goes to them. I feel blessed to be someone who supports her parents. Life then and now are not the same. Before, life was hard and unpredictable. Now I don’t worry. I can cover their expenses. I send money home and keep only a little for my transport. I always consult my father and keep the amount he tells me to keep,” she said.
She began as a cleaner and moved to the production team, sealing yoghurt containers after the machine packaging process.
Sadiyo came to Mogadishu after her family lost 50 camels and 100 goats to drought in Budbud. She stayed with relatives in Hodan district until she heard of the dairy company and applied for training and work.
The company manager, Fartun Cali Ahmed, says they intentionally hired poor and displaced families to raise them up.
Since opening in 2024, the company’s cow’s milk purchases have also been creating income for struggling pastoralists, whose livelihoods have been affected by drought, as well as imported powdered milk flooding the market.
“Many young people, including those displaced by conflict, now work here. And many pastoralist families benefit because we buy their milk. Some live in Dafeed, Afgoye, and Lafoole. They used to struggle to sell their milk or receive payment on time. Now we buy from them directly, whether they want daily payment or monthly payment,” Fartun said.
