Born and raised in Mogadishu, 36-year-old Saredo* has spent the past 13 years of her life in an Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camp in Puntland. Following her marriage, Saredo*, a mother of nine children (four boys and five girls), stayed at home and took care of her children, while her family’s main source of income depended on her carpenter husband who on a good day made an estimated of four U.S dollars.

Saredo* imagined a beautiful future for her children, a brighter world than the one they were born into. With five school-aged children, she started prioritizing their education. Two of them are attending a child-friendly centre (provides children play activities, socializing and learning) in the camp supported by save the children international and the other three are enrolled in a primary school, both of which are free of charge.

However, with the current economic crisis causing increased food prices and the little her husband was making, the family struggled to cover their basic expenses like water and food. As the situation started getting more difficult every day, it was hard for her children to go to school and focus on their studies.

Saredo*, pregnant with her ninth child, has also been a frequent visitor of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Centre in  Shabelle camp in the Gardo district of Bari region, where she receives, along with her children, free health services, including antenatal care.

Saredo* was registered for the Royal Danish Embassy-funded cash-based social transfer project that targets pregnant and lactating mothers through referrals by MCH. The project provides a 24-month cash-based social transfer worth USD 20 per month to enhance human capital through the first 1,000 days and improve access to health and nutrition. 

For the past five months, Saredo* has been receiving the monthly cash-based social transfer and the family was able to buy food and milk for the children and firewood for cooking.

Although her family still needs assistance to cover all their necessities, Saredo* is happy that her children can go to school with full bellies and dream of a brighter future.

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"My name is Saredo*, and I am 36 years old.

I was born and raised in Mogadishu, but for the past 13 years I have been living in an IDP camp in Puntland with my husband and our nine children—four boys and five girls.

 I am a stay-at-home mother and I take care of the children while my husband, who is a carpenter, is the breadwinner of the family.

 My husband is a hard worker, but what he makes is not been enough to cover the needs of the family, such as food, electricity, and firewood. In the past, we managed to get through because prices were affordable, but lately, things have gotten difficult.

As a mother, I am worried about my children and their health because what my husband makes is barely enough to cover their food.

However, their education has always been a priority, and with free education available in the camp, I have hope that my children will have a better future. Two of them attend child-friendly spaces in the IDP and the oldest three are enrolled in a primary school, which is free of charge.

For the past few years, I have been frequenting the MCH in the camp and have received free and comprehensive services for my children and me.

Seventh months ago, as I became pregnant with my ninth child and in my late trimester of pregnancy, I started visiting the MCH to receive care and consultations for the baby and me. I was fortunate to be enrolled on a 24-month-long cash-based social transfer project that supports pregnant women and their families.

As of now, I have been receiving cash for five months, and it increases our income and helps us in covering basic expenses like food items and firewood for cooking.

This money also gave us the possibility to take on debt in case we needed it, as vendors know that we could pay it off because of this consistent cash flow.

I am very happy that my kids have food to eat and access to free education and basic health services and can have a future that is brighter and better than the world they were born into."

Save the Children’s Support

Saredo* is a frequent visitor of Save the Children supported MCH in the camp. There she receives free and comprehensive service for her and her children’s health. When she was pregnant with her last child, she received antenatal care. She is now also registered on the cash-based social transfer project where she receives USD 20 for 24 months to increase her family’s income and help to cover some of her family’s expenses like milk for children, food, and cash crops. She is now able to buy her child nutritious foods and herself as well.

 Through the fund from Danish Royal Embassy (RDE), implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA), the Somali Cash Consortium and Save the Children provide social transfers to vulnerable pregnant and lactating women, supporting Early childhood development to improve in the first 1,000 days of life with cash-based social transfers and access to health and nutrition services that may contribute to their family's income.