Addis Ababa - The UN Migration Agency, IOM has provided business startup kits and helped to construct classroom blocks for schools in Adadle District of Shabele Zone in Ethiopia’s Somali Region.

As part of an ongoing project that is working to relieve the situation of internally displaced people in Ethiopia, on 8 December 2020 the organization unveiled school buildings it constructed in Farburo IDPs local integration site in Adadle town, and in Busho Wayn Kebele in Adadle District.

Two blocks, each consisting of two classrooms, were constructed for Farburo in Adadle town and Busho Wayn Kebele in the neighbouring Adadle District. Additionally, the organization also procured and distributed 160 student desks and eight black boards for four primary schools in Farburo, Bushowayn, Iftin and Biyolow, or 40 desks and two black boards for each school.

The handover ceremony at the school was attended by senior Government officials of the Somali Region, including a representative from the Regional president’s office.

IOM Ethiopia’s Mr. David Coomber, a Durable Solutions expert and the head of the Jijiga Sub Office, Mr. Joseph Nyangaga also attended the event, among others.  

A report released by IOM earlier this year showed that there are now more than 1.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ethiopia due to conflict, drought, seasonal floods, and flash floods. There has been an increasing focus on integrating them locally, looking at the capacity of host communities to absorb them.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Mustafa Abdi, Humanitarian Affairs and NGO M&E Coordinator in the Somali Regional State, spoke of how the regional government continues to improve the quality of education in the region. He said a significant number of primary and high schools were built over the past two years, adding that the support by IOM was complementing these efforts.

Mr. Dek Sheik Abdi, Shabelle Zonal Party Head, on his part, said this intervention by IOM was a significant step towards supporting the recovery of IDPs affected by drought and improving the welfare of 512 school children. “These new classrooms will relieve students from the dust and sun they used to face,” he said, highlighting the significance of the development.

IOM is working with the Somali Regional Government in implementing the Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons programme that is supporting the sustainable reintegration of displaced people affected by drought and is improving social cohesion in Adadle District of Shebelle Zone.

A key aspect of the programme is placing affected people at the center of planning for both their recovery and development, also known as community-based planning (CBP). Using pilot interventions, displacement-affected communities identify recovery priorities and address them with locally driven solutions, rather than continuing the conventional practice where aid agencies impose solutions for communities.

To address urgent needs, after consulting the community on their priorities, IOM also provided business start-up kits to 360 drought-affected households. Among these, 300 households received goats, 30 households received donkeys and carts for income generation projects, and 30 other households received business start-up capital of ETB 15,000 (USD 390) each.

This money is meant to be used by beneficiaries to set up and stock their shops and kiosks. Community members who opted to invest in livestock were provided with an average of eight goats for each household, and a cart with a donkey for 30 households.

IOM extended this support through generous funding it received from the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC).  

This project is among the few in Ethiopia that is integrating internally displaced persons (IDPs) in host communities using durable solution initiatives.

For more information, please contact IOM Ethiopia: Alemayehu Seifeselassie, salemayehu@iom.int ,