How drought is preventing children from going to school
Since the start of Somalia's humanitarian crisis in 2022, more than 1.7 million children have lost access to education. This is due to abrupt movement, loss of household income and many families being forced to decide between surviving or sending their children to school. It is often girls who are suffering the most by abruptly ending their education at a young age.
The impact of climate change in Somalia is multidimensional and long-lasting, and here are two ways drought has impacted children's access to education.
1) Forced to flee
When households face the economic burden of drought and can no longer sustain themselves, they are forced to uproot and take risky journeys in search of food and water. For children in Somalia, this has interrupted their access to school and a safe environment.
For Khadija Ali, who has been displaced for over a year in Garowe, a city in the northeast of the country, moving from her rural village was a life-saving decision. However, it meant that she was forced to choose between survival or maintaining her children's access to school.
“I have to choose between feeding my children or sending them to school,” says Khadija.
While children in Somalia are aware of the everyday impact of drought, the sudden interruption to their education can come as a shock. For Khadija's children, it has led to sadness and confusion. With no clear sight of when they will return home, and with limited schools nearby, displacement has hindered their development and is likely to trap them in the endless cycle of poverty.
2) Forced into work
The economic impact of drought has led families to rely heavily on their children to ease the financial burden. Young boys and girls as young as eight years old are forced to work, often in unsafe working environments.
Within Somalia’s displaced communities, young children no longer wake up to go to school. Instead, they get up daily for unsafe employment in the agricultural, hospitality or construction sectors. Other income opportunities involve more informal labour, like collecting charcoal and firewood.
Nurto Ahmed is a young teenager who is currently living far away from home in Kismayo. The only thing stopping her from accessing school is money. “I have always wanted to go back to school, but in this drought, education is not considered as important for girls,” she says.
Despite the challenges, Nurto explains that her dreams are still as big, and she is determined to find a way to reach them. "I want to become a teacher, and speak on behalf of my community," she says.
More must be done
Somalia’s drought has increased the existing educational gap for children. With many families unable to return to their place of origin, thousands of children's futures remain in limbo. What’s more, with children out of education, they are more exposed to different protection issues, such as exploitation and gender-based violence.
As the humanitarian crisis enters its second year, more needs to be done to support displaced children in restoring their right to education, such as building temporary schools in camps and providing families with the money to cover school fees.
Children in Somalia are demanding their right to education, and we need to listen!
In Somalia, education was once considered one of the most important factors for the development of the society. "To be without knowledge, is to be without light" goes the Somali proverb.
Education in emergencies is one of the most underfunded priorities in Somalia's humanitarian response plan, with thousands of children living without access to their fundamental right to education.
But young people are demanding a safe learning environment across Somalia's displaced communities. At the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), we are calling for the international community and national stakeholders to prioritise education in emergency response and find long-term solutions for access to education during and after crisis.
NRC has been supporting displaced communities in Somalia since 2004. Support our work today.