Saturday May 10, 2025
A farmer stands in his drought farm/ File Photo
Poor women affected by the drought conditions in Dusamareb, in central Somalia’s Galmudug state, are unable to return their children to school after they were expelled for failure to pay school fees.
Maka Hassan Ahmed’s four school aged children have been out of school since March.
She used to earn a living by slaughtering goats, but work has become scarce due to the effects of drought. Her children attended Waabari and Horseed schools, where she owes $198 in unpaid fees for the past six months.
Maka used to pay $33 a month when she was working. Her biggest worry is her son, who was supposed to sit for his eighth-grade secondary school leaving exam this year. His education is now on hold.
“When business went bad, the children were expelled from school. The last child was expelled three nights ago. I was careful and wanted to make sure he stayed in school, but difficult circumstances arose. Schools require monthly fees to teach the children, which I can’t afford. They charge me a monthly fee for the children’s education, and I don’t have that money,” she said.
The goats on sale at the market have become thin, unsightly, and expensive, affecting her income.
“Sometimes I take a goat for meat on credit for $30, and then resell it. Some days I make a $3 profit, which isn’t enough for my family. Other days, the meat doesn’t sell, and I end up at a loss and in debt. I have debts totalling $300 to a woman I bought five goats from on credit and couldn’t pay back, so I’m no longer given credit.”
In her family of eight, Maka also cares for her elderly, sick mother and her blind son, who struggle to cope with their current situation.
“I cook once every 24 hours when I get food. When I don’t, I beg neighbours for help. I’ve never experienced such hardship in my more than 30 years of slaughtering goats.
“The drought weakened us. It brought poor food, hardship, and a lot of debt. I’ve never gone through anything like this before. If I find food, I cook it. If not, we stay hungry. Before the drought, life was better. I worked and had an income. Now, the children, who depended only on me, face a difficult situation. That’s how it’s turned out. I pray to God to give me something to give them!”
Maka used to slaughter two goats a day and earned between $10 and $15 profit that was enough for food, water, and her children’s education. She pays no rent but hasn’t paid the water bill for two months.
She spent $1,200 of her savings on food, education, and clothes for Eid in March. With no other skills to fall back on, she finds herself in a precarious financial position.
Similarly, Habibi Ahmed Mahmoud, known locally as Habibo, had three of her children in second grade expelled from Gurmad School in Dusamareb. The school informed her they could no longer attend classes after failing to pay $60 in overdue fees.
“They don’t have education now. I couldn’t pay the small fees, and the teacher can’t teach for free. When I couldn’t pay, the children stayed home. They have nothing to do. You can feel the pain of a mother who wants her children to study and progress, only to see them sitting at home,” she told Radio Ergo.
Habibo struggles to find enough food for her family of 15. She used to earn between $10 and $14 daily from a grocery and vegetable shop and by slaughtering two animals each day to sell for meat.
Her supplies ran out due to hard times, and animal herders migrated far away in search of pasture and water for their livestock. Goats brought from distant areas are now too expensive.
“I have no other source of income,” she said. “I am the only earner in the family.
When things were good, we cooked food three times a day. We didn’t have to borrow money. We made a profit. We had enough food. I slaughtered a goat to pay for food, clothes, everything. But now, things are not the same, we are starving. We only cook once a day – hunger is real, and getting food is a problem.”
Habibo said she hasn’t paid her $8 electricity bill for the past three months and if she doesn’t settle her power will be cut off.
She also owes $3,500 borrowed to buy for food and including an old debt she had been paying off when her business was stable. She hasn’t made any payments in the last three months and is constantly pressured to repay.
For the past seven years, Habibo supported her family by selling goat meat, vegetables, and food from a stall. After separating from her husband long ago, she raised her children alone.
The entire urban economy in Dusamareb has slowed down due to the impact of the drought and the heavy toll it has taken on rural communities and their livestock.
Another single mother raising seven children, Maryam Abdi Ali, told Radio Ergo that four of her children, three of whom were in high school, were also forced out of their education. She used to earn $5-7 a day from her restaurant selling cooked rice, but most of her regular customers moved away or fell into debt.
“I feel a lot of pressure thinking about my children without education,” she said. “I couldn’t afford to pay for them. They were expelled and are now without lessons. One is in sixth grade, two in form 1, and one in form 4. If a child is not attending class, they can’t take exams. We don’t have money to bring them back. What will they learn? May God give us another solution.”
Maryam said the children were expelled after failing to pay $140 in fees over six months. She also struggles to feed her family, relying on uncooked food given by relatives once every 24 hours.
She has a $2,000 debt covering food, rent for her house and business space, and water bills. Those who lent her the money have given her until next month to repay, or face legal action.
They are living without electricity at the moment, as she can’t afford to pay the bill.