Somali Livelihood Initiative Organisation (LIDOSOM) is an independent humanitarian, non-profit, non-governmental organisation that supports women, girls and persons with disability to build better lives through social integration, skill-development and have useful representation in all aspects of their lives. Our interventions were implemented primarily in South and Central Somalia. The organisation is located in Luuq town, with a sub-office in Mogadishu and is registered in Somalia (Registration No. 091). LIDOSOM’s areas of focus include Livelihoods; Protection; Food Security; Inclusion; Gender Equality; Women Empowerment; and Health and Nutrition sectors.
The organisation employs 20 staff members with qualifications cutting across the board. Most staff operate at the field level. The organisation’s Board of Management is comprised of seven individuals (3 Female; 4 Male), with the Board Chairperson being female.
The ongoing civil war and extreme poverty are causing a substantial increase of the numbers of disabled persons in Somalia according to the records of some of the associations that Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) are causing some 7000 disabilities per year and children are especially vulnerable. Moreover, the legacy of war is the collapse of a health care system making preventable and curable diseases such as polio and meningitis spread. In 2014, an increase of polio cases as reported.
The poor assistance provided to pregnant women has resulted in many cases of children affected by cerebral palsy and congenital disabilities. Also, the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) leads to disabilities of many women due to fistula after childbirth or rape. Practices of amputation as punishment for criminal offences also add to the numbers. It is likely that persons with disabilities in Somalia add up to as much as 15-20 per cent or more of the population (around 1.5 million).
On average, each family has at least one member with a disability. Persons with disabilities and elderly have great difficulty in accessing humanitarian aid. Persons with disabilities remain excluded from the most essential services in emergencies and are left behind in homes. People with Disabilities are Somalia’s largest minority population, as well as the only minority anyone can become a member of at any time. Disabilities, in Somalia are a number that is rapidly growing in our population.
People with disabilities in Somalia face serious restraints, beatings, involuntary treatment even by their own families. Children with disabilities are isolated from playing with other children by their own parents and they have no possibility of challenging their conditions. Many children, youths and adults living with disabilities remain uneducated and illiterate. Many of them are unable to support themselves, contribute to their households or fully participate in their communities and the only way for them is to begging which only serves to reinforce the stigma.
Persons with disabilities face discrimination and barriers that restrict them from participating in society on an equal basis with others every day. They are denied their rights to be included in the general school system, to be employed, to live independently in the community, to move freely, to vote, to participate in sport and cultural activities, to enjoy social protection, to access justice, to choose medical treatment and to enter freely into legal commitments such as buying and selling property.
As there is, no organization directly involving the disabled group in Gedo region Somalia a young Somali intellectuals launched Somali Livelihood Initiative and Disability Organization (LIDOSOM) on 1st January 2015 to support this specific disabled group of the population through skill development initiatives and created employment opportunities for them. This has minimized the degree of dependency of the disabled people, while uplifting their morale and preventing them from being stigmatized.The other challenges for disabled people are the lack of especial programs for this disabled groups in Somalia, for instance, the respond of the last emergence in Somalia, the PwDs, was not considered. Somali community may possibly consider them and mostly suffice giving them small allowances or food items to take them through the day. This short-term solution, which is not more than Band-Aids to tackle the emergencies, lacks to long-term vision of presenting the disability as a minor challenge in life. Currently, Disabled people in Somali are uneducated, unskilled, very poor, unprivileged community and stigmatized society.
Area Of Intervention
• Livelihood
• Behavior change communication for ordinary community through conducting community mobilization/ awareness/ trainings/ workshops to minimize negative attitudes towards the disable groups in the community
• Creation of life supporting facilities and provision of TVET services.
• Introduction of social integration, participation of local governance structures from the grass root level to top up level.
• Health for disabled groups
• Education