Educate Displaced Children in Somalia for a Year

Introduction

Somalia’s humanitarian crisis remains severe and protracted, driven by recurrent drought, conflict, disease outbreaks, high food prices, and declining humanitarian resources. Recurrent climate shocks, including failed rainy seasons, continue to contribute to prolonged dryness and water shortages, devastating agriculture and pastoral livelihoods across the country. Current drought conditions are extreme across large parts of Somalia, threatening food security, livelihood, and peace in the region. An estimated 4.6+ million people have been affected, many of whom face high levels of food insecurity and lack access to safe water. Malnutrition rates, especially among young children, are rising sharply, and projections estimate up to 1.85 million children under five could suffer acute malnutrition through mid-2026 (UNICEF). The drought overlaps with ongoing conflict and displacement, pushing millions into internal displacement and urban camp settlements, leaving more learners out of school.

Across Somalia, school attendance rates continue to be severely affected by the ongoing drought. Millions of children are out of school; estimates suggest around 4.9 million children are not enrolled in formal education. Displaced children have even lower attendance, as little as 21% in some cases, compared to 39% for non-displaced peers. Children with disabilities face additional educational barriers, including a lack of awareness of their needs, a lack of specialized teachers, and the absence of supportive classroom assistance and appropriate infrastructure. (Education Cluster report).

Why Your Support Matters:

NAPAD’s Educate Displaced Children in Banadir, Somalia project directly addresses the intersecting challenges of drought, conflict, and displacement that are disrupting children’s access to education. As families are forced into displacement and basic survival needs take priority, education is often the first service lost, placing already vulnerable children at risk of long-term exclusion from learning.

Project Focus and Approach

The project aims to ensure that displaced children can continue their education despite crisis conditions by:

1. Establishing safe and inclusive learning spaces within IDP camps across the Banadir region, allowing children affected by drought and conflict to attend school in safe environments and remain connected to learning during periods of instability.
2. Reaching the most vulnerable children, particularly those who are newly displaced, out of school, or at high risk of dropping out due to poverty, food insecurity, and repeated displacement.
3. Promoting continuity and quality in education through the provision of essential scholastic materials, school meals, trained teachers, child-friendly learning environments, and structured educational programs, which are critical elements for delivering quality education in emergency settings.

Funding Status

To date, NAPAD has raised $807 toward the project’s total funding goal of $329,945. Continued support is urgently needed to expand access to education for displaced children in Banadir and to ensure that learning remains a source of stability, protection, and hope amid ongoing humanitarian challenges.

The Broader Impact of Your Donation

Investing in education during times of crisis creates lasting benefits that extend far beyond the classroom:

1. Education equips children with the knowledge and skills needed to become future leaders, entrepreneurs, and active contributors to the recovery and rebuilding of their communities.
2. Schools provide more than academic learning. They offer safe spaces where children can experience routine, protection, psychosocial support, and access to essential services, which is critical for displaced children affected by trauma and instability.
3. Educated children are better prepared to adapt to changing livelihoods and climate-related challenges, strengthening both individual and community resilience in the face of future crises.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

Supporting this project today ensures that displaced children are protected from the impacts of displacement while also safeguarding their long-term future. Education prevents a lifelong loss of opportunity by giving children the tools they need to survive, learn, and thrive despite crisis conditions.

Your donation today helps ensure that children do not lose their fundamental right to education simply because drought, conflict, and displacement have impacted their homes and communities. Together, we can provide hope, stability, and a pathway toward a more resilient and stable future for Somalia’s children.

Introduction

This project aims to increase access to basic education for children affected by drought, conflict, forced evictions, and other emergencies in the Banadir region of Somalia. By supporting schools in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, the project will create safe and inclusive learning environments for vulnerable children. To encourage regular attendance and reduce hunger, students are provided with two nutritious meals each school day. The initiative also aims to supply essential teaching and learning materials. Furthermore, adolescent girls will benefit from menstrual hygiene management support, including the distribution of dignity kits, to help them remain in school with dignity and confidence.

Funding & Resources Raised

The total fundraising goal for this project is USD 329,945. To date, USD 666 has been raised, leaving a funding gap of approximately USD 329,763. Given the scale and scope of the planned interventions, the resources secured so far fall short of what is required to achieve the project’s objectives.

Current Challenges & Context

1. Low school attendance and enrollment: Current reports indicate that only about one-third of school-age children are enrolled in formal education, leaving the majority out of school. This low participation is driven by multiple factors, including poverty, displacement, and the lack of safe and accessible learning spaces. Girls and displaced children are disproportionately affected, as gender-related barriers, economic pressures, and instability in displacement settings further limit their chances of enrolling in and completing school. Without targeted support, these children face a heightened risk of long-term exclusion from education and reduced future opportunities.
2. Gender-related barriers: Without adequate menstrual hygiene support, many girls are forced to miss classes or drop out of school altogether, which increases their vulnerability to early marriage and child labor. Additional challenges such as safety concerns, long distances to schools, limited presence of female teachers, and economic pressures further compound the barriers girls face in accessing and completing their education.
3. Infrastructure damage, loss of learning materials: Extreme weather events frequently damage or destroy school buildings and essential learning materials. They also cause repeated displacement of students or create unsafe conditions that prevent children from attending school consistently.
4. Seasonality and term breaks: Schools open in terms, but due to displacement or environmental shocks, children may miss the start of term, or drop out mid-term. Also, support services (meals, supplies) are inconsistent because of resource constraints.
5. Scale of displacement: Large numbers of families have been internally displaced due to climate shocks (drought, floods), conflict, and evictions. For displaced children, this instability often means losing consistent access to education. Frequent movement, lack of schools within IDP camps, and the struggle to meet basic survival needs leave many of these children excluded from formal learning opportunities.

Term Reopening & Needs

As schools open for the final term of the year, many displaced children continue to face disruptions in their education. This period is especially critical, as children who are already enrolled but attend irregularly risk losing their learning progress, while many others remain out of school and require urgent enrollment to avoid being left behind.

The following support is needed now more than ever:

1. School feeding: Adequate funding to provide daily nutritious meals for all displaced learners, ensuring hunger does not prevent children from attending and remaining in school.
2. Learning and teaching materials: Provision of essential supplies, including textbooks, uniforms, stationery, and safe classroom environments, to support both students and teachers.
3. Menstrual hygiene support: Distribution of dignity kits and menstrual health education to reduce absenteeism and dropout rates among adolescent girls.
4. Emergency preparedness and infrastructure repair: Resources to strengthen school preparedness for climate shocks and to repair damaged infrastructure, ensuring that learning can continue safely and without disruption.

How More Donations Will Help

• USD 13 will provide two meals per learner per day for one month, helping feed 2,450 learners over nine school months.
• USD 14 will provide a dignity kits for an adolescent girl learner.
• USD 40 provides learning & teaching materials for 1,225 learners and their teachers for the full school year.

CALL TO ACTION

NAPAD urgently appeals to you to join our campaign today and donate to ensure that displaced children in Banadir can access the education they deserve during this critical school term. With your partnership, we can provide nutritious meals, essential learning materials, safe classrooms, and the necessary support systems to keep the most vulnerable children in school. Timely action will prevent them from losing yet another year of education and instead offer them the opportunity to learn, grow, and build a more hopeful future.