Promoting an Economic Ecosystem for the youth in Somalia

How best can we inculcate & save the Somalia youth from the myriad of social problems they face, promote their financial incomes & redeem their future

Years of fighting in Somalia have led to the destruction of the entire social structure; the collapse of the family unit, lack of interaction, and lack of opportunities for economic empowerment, intellectual development, and constructive engagement through community development and participation for the youth. Millions of people have been displaced while the social infrastructure that existed has been destroyed. The biggest effect has been on the youth who are growing up in the turmoil that has characterized Somalia for the past 30 years. They have no access to information, knowledge, and skills to face the challenges of life. They lack recreational facilities and online platforms where they can meet, organize themselves and share ideas. They have no peer-to-peer interactions or meaningful amenities where they can positively engage their energies and release their steam. This is in addition to the lack of or limited educational, skills training, and livelihood opportunities that existed prior to the outbreak of the civil war.

The result of the foregoing has been increasing cases of moral decadence amongst the youth. Boys on their part lack guidance and many have been turning into thieves, robbers, killers, rapists, and drug addicts. The increasing lack of opportunities, high levels of unemployment, and poverty have seen many youths join piracy groups, and recruit into clan militia and radical groups that now operate in Somalia. Girls have been susceptible to forced and early marriages since their upbringing has inculcated in them the belief that sexual maturity means time for marriage. They enter this institution without any life skills or knowledge of their reproductive health such as the natural ways to control birth. They lack role models due to the traditional marginalization of women and girls in Somali communities, hence many never have ambitions in life. Girls have also been subjected to harmful cultural practices such as FGM, which severely affects their health.

In a bid to curb the soaring trend, we have mobilized resources to start (TVET programs for the Somali youth to enable them to a short course and fed for their lives, these include 3-6 courses on computer skills hair-dressing carpentry, and tailoring). we also form a youth platform on multiple online social sites to construct the Motherland Somalia youth Center for Peace & Progress. We also have a youth advisory council or committee from diverse backgrounds to facilitate our online & offline operations. This activity is an offshoot of https://motherlandsomalia.org/ with the aim of protecting young people against the threat of turning into social debauchery through constructive engagement in our online platforms and mentoring them to be responsible citizens. Our current social site events on Facebook, Twitter, and recently TikTok tend to come up on YouTube channels to spread the message of harmony, statehood, democracy, social integration, and a prosperous future. Over time we built a remarkable community to assist spread the message of hope, harmony, and social progress. We also have focus group forums we engage in debates on hot topics and share experiences and ways forward we engage in online and virtual campaigns and mobilization for all youngsters. Our facility consists of a small library, a hall/auditorium, a meeting room, a guiding and counseling room, a Registry, a Youth canteen/Social Arena, and 3 office rooms. These facilities are meant to provide the youth a place where they can meet, organize, share ideas and experiences and suggest their own solutions, learn to assert themselves in articulating issues of concern to them, and pass important lessons to their peers and community at large. So far, we reached 5790 youths in our online & offline campaigns. Our target is to reach 1M before 2030.

a).     Primary target

The deprived youth of the community in the IDP camps of Kismayo will be the direct target group. It will mainly involve the youths who are perceived to be the burden and non-productive members of society. The vulnerability of the youth will be judged by the extent of his relevance in society as well as the interest shown by him/her towards the “Youth Empowerment Initiative” Project. The organization will select the 500 most vulnerable youth members of the community from which it expects at least 450 members to complete the project successfully.

b.         Intermediate Target Groups

It will include Teachers and retired teachers, Parents of youth, Employers of youth(if any), Local People’s representatives, local Bureaucrats, Local opinion leaders, Jubaland security forces, Media Workers, Civil Society Organizations, Local community directly concerned with behavior problems of youth.

Generally; The Somali Youth often face extreme hurdles in accessing resources, usually exploited and potentially misappropriated. These challenges have hit Somalia's youth particularly hard. The substantial size of the youth population is not matched by a corresponding understanding of their status and the socioeconomic challenges they face. There are limited records, statistical data, and research projects which target young people. Adolescents and youth face many uncertainties about their future and are affected in fragile states by internal and external migration, unemployment, and violence. These issues faced by this demographic pose an existing threat to the nation.

More than 60 percent of the population is under the age of 25, and this group is consistently confronted with a myriad of roadblocks to their economic success. Educational attainment is low—just 40 percent of children in Somalia attend primary school. The literacy rate for the total population stands at 37.8 percent. Vocational training systems didn't exist in most towns such as Kismayo. As a result, few young people have the education and skills demanded by the current labor market; Somalia's youth experience one of the highest unemployment rates in the world at 60 percent. When education and income-generating opportunities are unattainable, youth can turn to negative coping mechanisms such as illegal migration, engaging in organized crime, and even joining violent extremist groups.

Motherland Somalia's projects of Promoting an Economic Ecosystem for Somali youth will offer short professional lifelong courses to young men & women, counseling & inculcate them to be responsible citizens, molding, mentor & coaching them before settling for the future, and connecting them together in our forum both virtual & face to face to creating a powerful force to reckon, engage them in debates & deliberations to revive their sense and wellbeing and encourage them in partaking communal services and activities such voluntary cleansing. Somali youth will have the opportunity to lead communications for community mobilization and outreach, develop strategies for engaging themselves and the outside world, advice our platforms, learn content, work alongside our staff, and participate in professional development opportunities. Some specific opportunities for youth leaders are planning events that contribute to knowledge, skill building, local engagement, and peer-to-peer networking. Many of the youth with leadership talents will also contribute their ideas on how to make the platform more relevant to change-makers in our networks. We should also engage them in debates deliberating about issues affecting them and hot internationals to win and achieve their aspirations

MOTHERLAND SOMALIA; THE IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATIONS

"Motherland Somalia" is dedicated to working towards empowering the Somali youth in Kismayo since the very first day of its inception back in 2015, through several measures such as vocational training, (1200 youths trained), connecting, coaching, counseling, and by several other measures. The organization has the expertise of relating with the youth and working towards their holistic empowerment with ample participation from all the stakeholders. The organization has the distinctive know-how of making youth participate in our programs and avail of all of our services.

The need for a holistic measure to work with those who are extremely marginalized and subjugated was always felt by the organization and in continuation of our efforts we are proposing the proposal which seeks to counter the maligning status of the Somali youth in Kismayo; especially in severely underdeveloped IDPs and provide them with ample opportunities to decide the course of their life.

BACKGROUND OF THE ORGANIZATION "MOTHERLAND SOMALIA"

A). Establishment

'Motherland Somalia' was registered in 2015 as a grassroots social transformative youth organization at the ministry of planning and international cooperation in the Jubaland state of Somalia. The agency is dedicated to imparting knowledge, skills, and awareness amongst the poorest strata of society with emphasis on youth investment & empowerment to bring up local harmonized social transformation, looking after the destitute, empowering women, climate activism, diseases preventions, drug de-addiction, witness protection and awareness about environment and hygiene.

Motherland Somalia as a grassroots organization formed by youthful intellect from the Somali community in Kismayo has gained a reputation for propelling the interest of Somali youth our strategy had always been to facilitate increased impact and expanded global, regional, and country-level action to address the needs, build on online youth community and advance the rights of young people in all their diversity in Somalia & around the world, and to ensure their engagement and participation in the implementation, review, and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well

B). Governance

The organization has a General Assembly consisting of founding members and other members who have joined the association after its establishment to oversee and deal with all policy issues. Its 3 founding members decide on major administrative matters and oversee major developments and guide its operations. There is a management committee consisting of department heads chaired by the Head of programs to deal with and execute day-to-day administrative and managerial matters.

The Head of Programs, responsible to the Board of directors, is entrusted with the main task of overseeing and implementing decisions passed by the General Body and Board of Directors. He also manages the day-to-day activities and operations of the organization.

The organization has three major departments, namely Administration, Finance, Program & Public Relations departments, and each department has also three to five sections. 

c) Vision, Mission, and Objective of the Organization Vision

 To see a healthy, gender-balanced, youth-led prosperous, and productive society that lives in a conducive environment.

Mission

The organization envisions providing the skill & knowledge to the youth & young women especially those from under privilege Strata of society so that they can recognize and use the resources around them for their holistic empowerment

General Objective

To identify, connect, organize, mentor, tap, and optimally harness the potential of the youth in general & particularly; under-privileged classes of society in such a way as to strike a judicious balance between their quality of life as well as towards their meaningful contribution to the society/nation.

ACTIVITIES OF MOTHERLAND SOMALIA.

LEARNING CENTER:

Learning Centre was established in the year 2018 for educating the children of the weaker sections belonging to the underprivileged class of Dalxiiska residents in Kismayo, especially for school drop-out and child laborers. It has a strength of 250 regular students and 09 staff. The children are trained for 6 months to one year in the learning center and they are admitted to the nearby Government and private sector.

ORGANIZING SELF-HELP YOUTH GROUPS (SHYGs):

'Motherland Somalia' undertakes special efforts to motivate youth, particularly from socioeconomically weaker sections and those living in slums, tribal, and impoverished areas, for self-employment. The information regarding the major role of youth & young women in the economic empowerment of the community is disseminated to the masses in our forums; both virtual and face-to-face, which makes the formation of SHYGs possible in highly marginalized areas.

Motherland Somalia has till now formed 12 SHYGs, which are dedicatedly working towards the resurrection of their social as well as economic status, resulting in acknowledgment of their role in the community and improvement of living status.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING:

Motherland Somalia provides vocational training (cutting, tailoring and computer literacy, carpentry, plumping, beauty & hairdressing) to the women and youth in Kismayo, especially those who are underprivileged living in the IDP camps such as; Faanoole Camp, Dalxiiska camps, Camp Khalil, south Kismayo, Rahoole camp, Badar camp and those voluntary refugee returnees in the residence of new Kismayo.

So far, we have trained more than 1200 youth in vocational training and remedial classes wherein, most of the beneficiaries are successfully placed in satisfactory jobs.

GENDER RESOURCE CENTER:

We are currently undertaking a pilot project for the Jubaland administration. Where the organization is entrusted with the responsibility to function as the single window clearance Centre for all 47 welfare schemes of Kismayo town and several other federal government projects.

CAREER GUIDANCE:

"Motherland Somalia' regularly holds career guidance from experts from relevant fields in govt. school and community and makes special efforts to spend awareness for self-employment-oriented vocational education and motivates youth as well as their parents to provide support to the youth in their efforts.

DRUG AWARENESS UNIT:

"Motherland Somalia' organizes camps in slum areas and locales inhabited by socially and financially disadvantaged strata not only for disseminating awareness about the harmful effects of Drugs but also spread knowledge about methods for de-addiction. Until now, more than twenty-six individuals in Badar Camp, Farjano residence have benefited from the de-addiction drive launched by 'Motherland Somalia' in the year 2020-2022. The drug awareness camps are one of the basic components of our role in community development.

LEGAL AID UNIT:

'Motherland Somalia' organized legal aid camps at Badar Camp, Dalxiiska IDP camps, New Kismayo residence for the youth of returnees, and other places for making available legal aid, particularly to women and people from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

DISABILITY UNIT:

'Motherland Somalia' not only spreads information and awareness among disabled/handicapped people about various beneficial schemes enunciated for them but it also makes concrete efforts to enable them to benefit from such schemes, financially and medically. As a result of these efforts by 'Motherland Somalia' fourteen physically disabled people were able to begin Self- employment and four disabled people were treated through successful surgical operations at I Special disability hospital of Sahibabad in the year 2019-2020.

ENVIRONMENTAL & CLIMATE UNIT:

'Motherland Somalia' organizes the general Youth in Kismayo including those in IDP camps to generate awareness and motivation regarding the environment, de-pollution, plantation of trees, cleanness, etc. These outreaches & awareness campaigns were successful and made a tangible and lasting positive impact on the ecology of these areas.

HEALTH CHECK-UP UNIT:

The organization in partnership with Daryeel health care regularly organizes health check-ups for the youth in IDP camps and Farjano residences and provides prescribed medicines free of cost.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENTS & VOLUNTEERISM

Our sprite of civic engagement & Volunteerism: was the cornerstone of all my grassroots activism; over the past few years, I appreciated & confirmed that volunteerism had removed barriers and obstacles within the community. It is the sprite of service, love, sympathy, empathy, dedication, the joy of service, and expecting nothing other than social transformations which is often the driving engine of all my activism, the biggest role in our service delivery. In the spirit of volunteerism, I offered my service as a social influencer and debate moderator for our youth forum and as a carrier mentor from Jan 2019 and continuing up to date. In a voluntary outreach that I organized between 10th-20 September 2022, I succeeded in raising, delivering, and distributing food items to 870 households affected by recent in Somalia on 21st Jan 2022. On 07th June 2022, I organized & mobilized 455 members of the youth who took part in our short transformative courses to participate in seashore cleansing.

In my sprite civic engagement & Volunteerism, we enhanced social connections, built bridges of success, social harmony & cohesion, safer & stronger community. It was the spirit of Volunteerism that encouraged me to promote youth to be more active in civic engagement and be concerned about the citizen. I also succeeded in delivering some public services, encouraging others to volunteer work in the public section, helping raise the education and skills of the Somali youth in Kismayo, pushing forward sustainable development, solve social problems. Due to my outstanding volunteerism & collective actions, the grassroots community especially the youth feel ownership of this project which gives me confidence & and approval for the project & activism.

Our approach of "community participation" in every project we undertake also sets us apart and makes us unique again giving me & the agency confidence, high-level approval & support from the local community, assisting me in keeping my project in progress reaching more and more dedicated youthful individual leaving an everlasting impact on the lives of many members of the community. Civic participation encompasses a wide range of activities. One which is driving our project is volunteerism, participating in community work localizing solutions, and instilling our values which in turn led to a higher level of approval, trust, a stronger and happier community, and create confidence among residents who are often overlooked and underheard.

Some of our successful programs include but are not limited to:

Vocational training (basic computers): for 1200 youth members between 2018-2022- funded by ONGC

Academic coaching: to 740 young people conducted between 2018-up to date funded by the Ministry of youth & sports- Jubaland State of Somalia

Beauty culture & hairdressing: 40 young women & adolescent girls in Kismayo from Feb- 2022 to date. Funded by Civil Society Development of Kismayo

Tailoring (Sewing and knitting): 567 youth from the underprivileged IDP sites in Kismayo funded by Kismayo Local government in partnership with the World Bank

Youth participation for awareness for climate change: Mobilized 2340 young people in Kismayo to partake in a basic awareness campaign to conduct outreaches and awareness to the larger society, (between July 2021-March 2022). This project was funded by the Global climate campaign in July 2021 

Before applying for this program Motherland Somalia consulted the target community, particularly the community stakeholder, community vocal point, women groups, elders, diverse youth groups, religious clerks, the local authority, and youth from minorities and those who are hard to reach in focus group discussions and consultation. The entire group unanimously agreed with the need for this project we are forwarding and termed it as "ambitious".

We also conducted a baseline survey which indicated:

Adolescents and youth (10-35 years) from 50.8 percent of the total Somali population. Adolescents and youth from 49.6 percent of the total male population and 51.9 percent of the total female population. Of the total adolescent and youth population, 49.6 percent are males and 50.4 percent are females.

Marital Status and Households: About 7.1 percent of the population aged 15-17 have been married and about 5.7 percent are currently married. The proportion of the population which has been married increases with age; in the age group 20-24, close to 50 percent of the population has been married, in the age group 25-29,

Education: The survey reports a literacy rate of 40 percent for the total population 15 and above which decreases rapidly with age. It stands at 52.2 percent for adolescents (15-19 years), but only 35 percent for youth 30-35 years. Furthermore, about 50 percent of the secondary school-age youth who are currently enrolled, are enrolled in primary school. A similar proportion of those who should be in postsecondary institutions is enrolled in secondary school.

Labor force Participation, Employment, and Unemployment: Somali adolescents and youth make up 60 percent of the Somali labor force. Even among the 10-14-year-olds, 17.3 percent are economically active. This age cohort is children who are not expected to be working but should instead be enrolled in primary school. On the other hand, almost 50 percent of the working-age youth 20-35 years are economically inactive. An estimated 23.7 percent of the adolescents (10-19 years) are active, 43.8 percent are active among the 20-24-year-olds, and 54.6 percent among the age group 25-29. Unemployment among youth is 33 percent for the age group of 15-24 years, 30.4 percent among the population aged 15-29, and 27.6 percent for the population 15—35 years. The highest unemployment rates are found in urban areas and IDP camps.

Interactive sessions: We usually have interactive sessions with the Somali youth; we use “the youth language” to rejuvenate their sprite and communicate across our message and learning schemes

Use of technology & social site: majority of the Somali the youth we engaged contribute to our online sites sessions and suggest this programs to reinvigorate to a higher level

Connect: Enhance how the Motherland Somalia reaches out, communicates with, listens to and responds to young people, including through a strategic use of its convening capacity and partnerships with tech and communications companies for expansion of large-scale, multi-media outreach and campaigns relevant to young people.

Amplify: Partner with young Somali people who globally, nationally or locally advocate for the values of The Motherland Somalia to amplify and reinforce their voices and increase the reach and impact of global youth movements.

Motherland Somalia strategy or goal for next year is to facilitate increased impact and expanded grassroots/local, regional and country-level action to address the needs, build the agency and advance the rights of young people in all their diversity around the nation & the world, and to ensure their engagement and participation in the implementation, review and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as other relevant global agendas and frameworks.

Below are own impact goal for 2023

Engagement, Participation and Advocacy - Amplify youth voices for the promotion of a peaceful, just and sustainable world

Connect: Enhance how the Motherland Somalia reaches out, communicates with, listens to and responds to young people, including through a strategic use of its convening capacity and partnerships with tech and communications companies for expansion of large-scale, multi-media outreach and campaigns relevant to young people.

Expand the reach, Upgrade & diversify our TVET programs: Expand the system of technical/Vocational training institutions and capacity in Kismayo town Setting sex-disaggregated student enrollment targets for TVET annually and seeking small business investment programs so that they contribute more in the market, encourage greater involvement of the private sector in supporting and investing in TVET while also assisting a link technical / vocational training to local labor market opportunities and needs. We shall also upgrade our technical equipment for the technical/ vocational education and training to produce qualified technicians & improve the quality and diversify the skills of the TVET education schools.

Amplify: Partner with young people who globally, nationally or locally advocate for the values of The Motherland Somalia to amplify and reinforce their voices and increase the reach and impact of global youth movements they are building.

2. Informed and Healthy Foundations - Support young people’s greater access to quality education and health services

Advocate for quality education: Engage partners to ensure universal access to develop and deliver quality and inclusive education for young people that is learner-centered, adopt a lifelong learning approach, which is relevant to their lives and the socio-economic and environmental needs of their communities, promote sustainable lifestyles and sustainable development.

Ensure accessible and youth-responsive health services and healthy environments: Incorporate an approach that is inclusive of young people in The Motherland Somalia's support to strengthening national health systems, and promote efforts to provide universal health coverage while addressing social determinants of young people’s health and wellbeing.

3. Economic Empowerment through Decent Work - Support young people’s greater access to decent work and productive employment

Advocate for a balanced approach: Engage partners to advocate for a balanced approach to stimulate the youth labor demand and prompt improvements in skill development systems, with the objective of easing the school-to-work transition and reducing the youth NEET rate, particularly among young women and disadvantaged youth.

Guide and support: Support partners in their efforts to create youth-enabling employment and self-employment ecosystems and to develop and operationalize strategies that prioritize the improvement of both the quantity and quality of jobs for young people through, e.g. public and private investments, economic and labor market policies, skill development, transition to the formal economy, social protection, youth rights at work, and active youth engagement.

4. Youth and Human Rights – Protect and promote the rights of young people and support their civic and political engagement

Protect and promote young people’s human rights: Prioritize advocacy, policy development and programming to safeguard the human rights of young people and prevent and address widespread and grave human rights violations experienced by young people and ensure a strengthened focus on young people experiencing intersecting forms of discrimination and abuse, as well as young people’s access to justice;

Promote participation in political and public affairs: Leverage the capacity of The Motherland Somalia to promote young people’s right to participate in public affairs, including in political and civic processes, platforms and institutions at all levels, such as elections, constitution-making processes, political parties and parliaments.

5. Peace and Resilience Building – Support young people as catalysts for Peace and Security & Humanitarian Action

Promote an enabling environment: Recognize young people’s important and positive contribution to peace and security, prevention of violence, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian and climate action, and foster and protect an environment conducive to young people’s actions (including through reintegration, recovery and resilience activities for youth affected by conflict);

Reinforce capacity: Reinforce the capacity of youth-led movement & forums involved in peace, security, humanitarian and climate action to increase the impact of their work and their organizational sustainability, as well as reinforce capacity of institutional actors to work with young people.

Collaborations: To strengthen effective collaboration and coordination between all youth development stakeholders & achieve desired concrete youth development

Support youth groups/forums: To support young people, youth groups, and youth organizations that require special attention, especially young women, youth with disabilities, etc., to ensure they have access to equitable opportunities for development to their full potential.

Youth unity: To stand for youth unity, respect for diversity and prepare a tailored made intervention respectively.

Volunteerism: To encourage active participation of the youth in activities of re-building the country.

Advocacy: To ensure coordination and mainstreaming. Different policies serving the youth.

Our connection and campaign mostly revolve round social site. We created online community in every site and organized or targets as cohorts. We connect, debate, organize and mentor youngster in those sites. We also use Email to messages and do our own online researches.  

5790 Members: served so far

1500 individuals: to serve 2023

Lack of funding for partners

The high literacy rate among the youth- High illiteracy among the youth in Somalia is pathetic and deplorable; formal education is usually a commodity or rather a service affordable only to the privileged; middle and upper classes of the society. To add to that; most of the Educational institutions are the in the hand of the private sector. The quality of education is also questionable as there is no common curriculum in use henceforth; there's no quality assurance in place for education systems as a whole in Somalia.

Fragile public institutions – The majority of public institutions are facing scarce financial and human resources generally in Somalia which will also negatively affect us, such as rabid over populations of our center. Due to the prolonged civil war, the government facilities are devastated and reconstruction is needed. The absence of basic economic infrastructure and a lack of social services fuel a high rate of unemployment among the young generation; 67% of Somali youth are estimated to be unemployed.

Climate change and environment destruction – Somalia experiences recurrent climate challenges, including drought, floods, and desertification. Excess use of natural resources and charcoal for fuel and overall poor environmental management has led to the poor environment

Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) – currently in Kismayo, two persons in five are either an IDP or a returnee. Such people are living on the margins of society, with limited resources and employment opportunities in the town it won’t that would test our limit

Radicalization, violent extremism and terrorism – The Somali youth are among those who suffered from radicalization and violent extremism activities due to their vulnerability resulting from low level of education, unemployment, and the fact that during the prolonged civil war the only employment available was being an insurgent.

Patriarchal structures - provide limited opportunity for young people to partake in decision making (community, family planning, higher education, full employment). Traditional norms such as FGM increases infant and maternal mortality or lifelong health issues. In summary, a large proportion of the people (girls and women) can’t develop to their full potential, do not fully contribute to the labor force/ economic development and increase demand for reproductive health care Hence hindering development

Local fundraising, Individual donors, and Somalis in the diaspora especially in US and Europe specifically the UK.

Motherland Somalia: This is a social transformative organization that is also a forum & a center of education for the Somali Within Kismayo. The agency serves as a meeting point for giving them the opportunity to discuss, debate & plan how best to secure their future and reform their community from the grassroots. Motherland is an educational center nurturing talents and skills to enhance the human resource capability of the youthful participant.  My purpose of the agency is to be a bridge of success, sustainable development, social equity, innovative solutions, community resilience, and transformative changes for the Somali within Kismayo. Our policies are social engagements; grassroots with activism, volunteerism, and outreach programs.

our target customers or beneficiary of our project is the local Somali youth who live in deplorable situations in their hometown and country torn between several difficulties with no basic education, economic opportunity, and social project

we offer them short TVET course with offers ready jobs after completion and connect them together in platforms such as social sites, youtube, and emails. we also engage them in debates and deliberation to sensitize and rejuvenate their sense and to create a powerful force and a union between them so they regain their destiny for other social forces

Somali youth lacks the life skills to ward off the temptations of joining these groups. they also don't have access to information, knowledge, and skills to face the challenges of life. They lack recreational facilities and online platforms where they can meet, organize themselves and share ideas. They have no peer-to-peer interactions or meaningful amenities where they can positively engage their energies and release their steam.

Sale of products: Some of the products that our organization produces can be sold in the market. This of course will not be a huge amount but will help us to continue your efforts

Diversifying our donors: Look at various options through which we can get dome funding, this includes corporate houses, local institutions, individuals, etc.

Service Fee: Once the funding comes to an end we can start charging minimal fees from the target beneficiaries for the maintenance and functioning of our project.

Online Fundraising: Online fundraising can help reach a wide audience and individuals who like our project & can fund us.

In-Kind donations: we do not just look at financial support from agencies as in-kind support can also help us in sustaining some of our project activities.

Ways we can achieve Institutional and Organizational Sustainability

Explore new opportunities: Keep a flexible approach while looking for new opportunities we shall also modify our priorities to adapt to changes.

Develop new partnerships: To develop a sustainable organization we should develop new partnerships. These partnerships will make us stable and will also help us in taking our mission ahead.

Boost existing relations: Along with investing time and energy in developing new partnerships, it is equally important that we manage existing relations with donors, stakeholders, and beneficiaries in a proper way.

Communication and Outreach: Have a strong communication strategy that can help us in showcasing our project results to a large audience. Have a monthly communication plan that can be used for updating our webpage, social site profile, sending donor emails, etc.

Volunteer engagement: one of the strategies that many NGOs use to sustain their projects is through engaging volunteers for performing some activities. As volunteers do not take any salary we can use this human resource to continue our mission without spending money.

Programmatic sustainability

Community participatory approach/Community involvement: involving the community is the key to having long-term impacts on any project we shall make sure that our project involves the community at various stages, this will give them ownership of the project and there are high chances that they may continue with some project aspects even after the project duration. As the entire process will be participatory the skills and knowledge gained by the present group of people, will be transferable and also replicable.

Institutionalize local groups: Local groups play a very important role in maintaining our program objectives. We shall strengthen local institutions in Somalia, especially in Kismayo Town  

Community advocacy: Sensitizing the community about the benefits of this project and then initiating policy advocacy will also ensure sustainability in the long run. Involving local government and departments: Involvement of local agencies and government will ensure improved access to government initiatives in this direction. As these agencies are permanent, they will help us in sustaining the project activities beyond the project duration