Think Creative Fall 2023

Ambiyo Mohamed Dahir has been an educator in Somalia for more than 30 years. Her work with IDP students is critical to maintaining social cohesion.

Conflicts arise as traditional grazing routes diminish in West Africa. Communities are working with herders, farmers and settlements to find peaceful solutions.

of enrolling out-of-school children into the accelerated basic education program, which condenses eight years of classroom studies into four years. These enrollment efforts have helped build cohesion and collaboration between existing community members and displaced persons. “Host communities sometimes see the IDPs as rivals competing for the same resources. Since this program rolled out, we have brought all parts together to better utilize the opportunity,” she says. Supported by the USAID-funded Bar ama Baro project (“Teach or Learn” in English) and developed in close cooperation with the Somali government, the program underscores her lifelong purpose of building social trust among IDPs and host communities. Education is an important tool to give children and youth a sense of stability and provide basic skills like literacy and numeracy. However, for mal education is largely out of reach for IDPs. Initially, Dahir and four colleagues stepped in by setting aside small amounts of money from their limited monthly salaries to buy school supplies for IDP students. Two hundred boys and 208 girls are enrolled in her school as part of the accelerated basic education program. She expects to enroll more students each semester. “In my meetings with the community, I always emphasize the importance of education for all and the need to accommodate and create ini tiatives to allowmany children from disadvan taged and internally displaced communities to come to school, sit with their peers and enjoy the privileges of safety, quality and a child- centered classroom. In this way, we can build a better and cohesive community,” says Dahir. n This cover story is a collaboration among Alinor Osman, Ashley Williams, Atiewin Mbillah Lawson, Erin Josephine Treinen, Karen Ives, Sabra Ayres and Michael J. Zamba.

the herders would compensate the school for any crop destruction in exchange for permis sion to use the borehole. Pastor Immanuel Danka felt relieved with the intervention. “The way [the QueenMother] approached the issue was great because she started by ensuring our relationship with the Fulbe community was good. From there, we gave them a time they could come to fetch wa ter and they have honored that,” he says. Communication, inclusion, and negotiation are key steps to achieving social cohesion, she says. “I have started visiting communities across the region, advocating for peace and good neighborliness and working with other women leaders to build community relations,” the QueenMother says. Based on the results between the herders and the school administration, her efforts are paying off. Locally led solutions to regional and global challenges such as water resources form

the basis for improved community relations and reinforce the role of local leaders like the QueenMother to act quickly. Somalia: Rebuilding social cohesion through education Ambiyo Mohamed Dahir has lived through tough times during her more than 30 years of teaching in Baidoa, Somalia. The ongoing deadly drought and attacks by violent extrem ists have created more than 3 million internally displaced persons—which are eroding social cohesion in her community as more people arrive to neighborhoods and camps, placing greater strains on limited resources. “Baidoa is surrounded by camps for displaced people and their numbers are increasing by the day,” Dahir says. “These are our people, and they deserve to live a decent life.” As the head teacher at a school with 1,800 stu dents and 41 staff, she has used her position to rally the community around the common cause

Photos by Eric Gibson (center); Ismail Taxta (top right) Carlos García

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