Faiso* is a 28-year-old mother of four children living in an internally displaced (IDP) camp in Nugal region of Somalia. Like many families in the camp, her family used to be pastoralists, having 60 goats and sheep, but they lost all their livestock due to the current drought in Somalia and moved to the IDP camp in April this year. Faiso* has been the head of the household since her husband became ill during the drought, becoming a caregiver to her children and sick husband as well as the breadwinner of the household.

Faiso* and her family became one of 260 households in Nugal region who were registered to receive multipurpose cash assistance to support drought and crisis-affected Somali households funded by the European Commission and implemented by Save the children international through the Somali cash consortium. 

Faiso* expressed her happiness in receiving the cash transfer because it allowed her to buy her family food, pay off their debts, and send her oldest child to school. She says that the money helped her family and many of her neighbours to survive in these challenging times.

Faiso* and her family are one of the 1,478 households currently receiving emergency Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance in Puntland state from Save the Children through the Somali Cash Consortium’s response, a three-month unconditional cash transfer to save the lives of families in Somalia who have been affected by the drought. Faiso and other beneficiaries like her receive $US 60 per month.

Faiso*  said: “Before the current drought in Somalia, which has severely affected pastoralists, I spent most of my life living in the countryside as a pastoralist, but then the drought happened, and we lost our livestock, which was our only source of food and income.”

 “When my husband fell ill during the drought, it was a very sad moment for our family. I was breastfeeding my youngest daughter. We lost all our livestock, forcing us to move to this IDP camp in April 2022 for us to find anything to live on since we lost our main source of livelihood. Life was harsh with no income and no chance to take on debts.”

“I had the good fortune to be selected as one of the families registered from the IDP camp who would benefit from this cash transfers programme. The project staff visited and interviewed me after verification of households identified by village relief committees.”

 “We can now pay off bills and debts when we get our monthly cash transfer from Save the Children, and this money has helped us to cover our family's basic food needs. I mostly use the money to buy vegetables, mi and other small things for my children. This money also allowed me to buy books, pens and other school essentials for my oldest daughter, who is currently the only one old enough to attend school.”

 “For our family and most of the other families in the IDP camp, receiving this unconditional cash transfer, although it doesn’t cover all our needs, has been great. It helps us survive in these tough times and I pray this support continues till we are in better condition.”

About the project

As part of the funding from the European Commission to the Somali Cash Consortium, the programme targets populations in districts facing acute food shortages and drought-affected households in Somalia with life-saving humanitarian Unconditional Cash Transfers (UCTs). The selected households receive three months of consecutive unconditional cash transfers with a transfer value of $60 per month per household in the Nugal region.

*Names have been changed to protect identity.