Interview about aid projects by Terre des Hommes
Marti Gensel works for Terre des Hommes in the humanitarian aid department. When people in our project countries are plunged into extreme hardship by natural disasters such as floods, droughts, or earthquakes, he ensures they receive rapid assistance. He is also committed to preventing natural events from becoming human catastrophes. For this reason, he visited the Gedo region in Somalia, East Africa, which borders Kenya and Ethiopia. At the end of 2018, a project was launched there with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), benefiting five communities each in Somalia and Kenya. It helps people prepare for the recurring and increasingly severe droughts. Iris Stolz spoke with Marti Gensel about the project, the ever-present threat posed by the Islamist terrorist group Al-Shabaab, and the situation of women and children.
Mr. Gensel, why were you in Somalia?
We've been working in the Gedo region for five years. When the extreme drought hit in the spring of 2017 and people were threatened with starvation, we distributed food and water together with our partner organization NAPAD in the Kenyan-Somali border region. NAPAD stands for "Nomadic Assistance for Peace and Development." Now we want to launch a larger project. The goal is to ensure that people are permanently protected from hunger and can cope with recurring droughts. I was there to determine: What is most urgently needed, and where should we implement our work?
Droughts have always occurred. Has the extent of them worsened?
Yes. The Juba River, the region's lifeline, is carrying less and less water, and the dry periods are becoming increasingly long – a consequence of climate change. This has dramatic effects: herders are forced to slaughter their animals or sell them far below their value, and insufficient food can be grown. While the soil is fertile in principle, nothing grows without water.
What does Terre des Hommes want to do?
If enough food can be produced and stored when the river is flowing, the dry season can be weathered more easily. The question is: how do you get the water to the fields? We want to support communities in irrigating their fields more effectively and improving their drinking water supply. We want to install pumps and irrigation systems so that crop yields can be increased – both for self-sufficiency and for the market. Some villages already have such pumps. However, they are mostly gasoline-powered. This costs a community an average of US$200 per month. If there's no money, there's no water.
What does Terre des Hommes want to do better?
We are planning to install solar-powered pumps. Fortunately, there is no shortage of solar energy in Somalia. I have seen pumps that have been operating for six years and are cherished and maintained by the village community. They have recognized: This is about our livelihood.
Is the water from the river also drunk?
Yes. There are a few wells. When the river and wells run dry, most people survive through a system called "water trucking": trucks arrive loaded with drinking water. Sometimes this is organized by aid organizations. Often, however, it's traders who sell the water. People sometimes have to pay 15 times the price they would normally pay at public wells for this water.
"They go through the villages and take what they need."
Is the Islamist group Al-Shabaab also active in the project region?
It is one of the regions controlled not by Al-Shabaab, but by the Somali government; however, attacks still occur regularly. These attacks are mostly directed against government structures and their employees.
Where did they get their weapons?
They obviously find a way. In Somalia, they say: We've often lacked food, but never weapons and ammunition. I've been told that the followers go through villages and take what they need. There are no security structures to stop them.
How are the children coping with this situation?
The children know only this state of affairs. Many go hungry, and because health clinics and medical care are scarce, approximately 135 out of every 1,000 newborns don't even reach their fifth birthday. Somalia also has the highest rate of female genital mutilation: 98 percent of women currently between the ages of 15 and 49 have undergone this procedure – almost 80 percent of them between the ages of five and nine. Finally, the quality of education is poor, and enrollment rates are low. In many regions, significantly less than half of the children attend primary school – let alone secondary education.
And the fear of violence...
...is certainly a constant companion. The boys live in fear of being recruited by the militias or the military. Many are forced to join, some leave for lack of alternatives. In Somali schools, there are the typical letter walls: A for Airplane, B for Banana, and so on. In some schools, Airplane has been replaced by A for Ammunition, the English word for ammunition. I was told: The children don't know what airplanes are. Ammunition is lying around everywhere.
What influence do women have?
It varies greatly. I visited two villages in one day. In the first, the women only dared to speak after much pleading. Twenty kilometers further on, I experienced the following: When we arrived, men and women were already sitting together under a tree. After two men had spoken, a woman spoke confidently. Her first sentence was: "What the men are saying here is all nonsense." And she was right! We realized that what the women identify as a need usually makes sense. This experience also demonstrates how incredibly important it is that we collaborate with partner organizations that understand the local conditions. Knowledge about the role of women in individual communities can, for example, determine the success or failure of projects. That's why it's important for us to involve women in our projects and strengthen their self-confidence.