Al-Imdaad Foundation teams have just returned from Somalia as part of a week-long relief mission that took place in the Holy Month of Ramadan.

The teams arrived in Somalia on June 17 for a series of relief activities including food hamper distributions, orphan care activities and water distributions.

The relief trip was part of the Al-Imdaad Foundation‘s ongoing emergency programme in Somalia launched in March 2017 in response to the devastating drought.

It is already four months since the Somali government declared a national drought disaster, and an elevated risk of famine still prevails in parts of Somalia. This is due to severe food consumption gaps, high malnutrition rates and the burden of disease. Currently over 6.7 million people remain in need of humanitarian assistance with more than 700 000 having been displaced by drought since November 2016. Al-Imdaad Foundation teams witnessed the suffering of these displaced families first hand in the various missions they have been on.

Under Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs at the United Nations recently stated: “What we do know is that humanitarian assistance works and can pull people back from famine.”

According to the Al-Imdaad Foundation, this is also the understanding that has driven recent missions in Somalia. The latest mission is the third trip the Al-Imdaad Foundation has undertaken to Somalia since March 2017, in addition to regular relief activities conducted through regional partners.
On this occasion, the team was accompanied by journalists from Salaamedia and Radio Islam who documented the mission. Azhar Vadi from Salaamedia described his experiences in the city of Baidoa, which is in one of the worst affected regions of Somalia, as “an emotional tsunami”.

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Mr Vadi described how at the edge of the city they had seen hundreds of dome-shaped structures made from sticks and pieces of material, with entire families taking shelter from the searing heat and dry winds.

These families are the displaced people who the Al-Imdaad Foundation’s interventions target. They have been forced from homes in rural areas due to a lack of water and food.
During the June 2017 trip, the Al-Imdaad Foundation team engaged in extensive food hamper distributions in multiple locations for the benefit of the displaced Somalis.

Water tanker distributions also took place in camps outside Baidoa city, where camp residents struggle to obtain clean water, and diseases such as cholera are rife.

A special programme was also arranged for Somali orphans at an orphanage run by Al-Imdaad Foundation’s regional partners in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

The foundation distributed new clothes to the orphans and treated them to a wholesome meal to break their Ramadan fast. The Al-Imdaad Foundation says it will continue its emergency relief programme in Somalia and will do as much as it can to help avert famine. For more information about the project or to contribute, visit www.alimdaad.com or call 086 178 6243.

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