November 25, 2013
In mid-November, a devastating cyclone made landfall in Somalia’s Puntland region- home to 2002 Goldman Prize winner Fatima Jibrell. Jibrell is working with her organization Adeso to raise funds and awareness about the storm and provide much needed relief to its victims.
Please read the message below, orginally posted by Jibrell on the Adeso website for details about the extent of the storm’s damage and for ways you can help:
For four days, the cyclone brought heavy rainfall, icy winds, flash floods, and mudslides. Roads, houses, mosques, schools and farms were destroyed. Fishing boats sank. Water sources were damaged.
It took days for the extent of the damage to become fully known. My colleagues at Adeso sent out teams to assess the damage and needs on the ground in the worst-hit areas. They found that many families had barely enough food to last a week. In addition to losing livestock, many have lost their shelter and possessions, and have no clothes to protect themselves against the weather. Mudslides are also unearthing landmines from the Somali civil war, endangering children and livestock.
I am particularly troubled by the loss of livestock, farms, and fishing boats. Thousands of households lost their only means of earning a living. These people were already living in extreme poverty, and we need to help them recover as quickly as possible to rebuild their lives. Adeso estimates that over 100,000 people have been affected by this disaster and are at risk of destitution and hunger.
In the short term, Adeso is helping communities meet their immediate food needs, and providing them with water and farming inputs. Cash assistance will enable people to purchase water, food, and clothing, and will stimulate the recovery of the local economy. In the long term, Adeso will provide support to rehabilitate water sources, roads, homes and restore livelihoods of nomadic and fishery communities.
Adeso is uniquely placed to respond to this crisis. Since 1991, when I began humanitarian work in Puntland helping families caught up in the Somali civil war, we have built deep relationships with these communities. We know them well, and we have supported them through civil war, drought, and famine. Now we are prepared to help them recover from this new disaster.
I am asking for your help. Your donation can help people meet their immediate needs, as well as support them to rebuild what has been lost. We need your help to make this a reality – please give generously to the cyclone affected people of Somalia.
How can you help?
You can DONATE online today through our secure donations portal.
You can donate checks in local currency by mail to our offices in the USA, UK and Kenya
Donate via Somali money transfer companies to Adeso’s Dahabshil account No. GRWD0003245 or Amal account No. 0704-04-56259-01-Adeso.
All donations we receive as part of this appeal will be solely dedicated to support the recovery of the communities struck by the cyclone. If donations exceed our appeal target, they will be used to help vulnerable populations wherever the need is greatest.
You can also:
Share news of the cyclone and our work on social media;
Notify your churches, mosques, or synagogues about this disaster, and raise funds for us to distribute on the ground;
Alert your contacts in corporations and philanthropies about the needs in Somalia, and let us know of their interest in supporting an Africa-based, African-led organization working there.
Thank you for believing in our work. God bless you and those who are suffering in Somalia and all over the world.
Sincerely,
Fatima Jibrell
Adeso Founder and Special Advisor for Somalia
