14-12-2023 | di COOPI

Somalia. Yemenite women starting a new life with henna

Refugee, displaced, returning migrants and vulnerable women from host communities in Mogadishu who participated in the six-month training promoted by COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale and UNHCR from January until December 2023 can finally start working in beauty salons.

Among the 25 beneficiaries of the course, organised as part of Project “Promoting Self-reliance and livelihoods for Somali Refugee Returnees in South Central Somalia”, there is Nadira Osman Mohamed, who arrived in Mogadishu in 2017 from Sana'a, the Yemeni capital.

Thanks to the courses promoted by UNHCR, I learned a lot," she says, "such as the difference between wedding and party designs, but also the different types of make-up." 

Teaching her and her colleagues is Falluma Aden, who has five years of experience in various beauty centers in Somalia. She explains us how the project is helping to support communities affected by displacement, such as refugees, returnees, IDPs, and vulnerable host communities, to move from extreme poverty to self-sufficiency, enabling sustainable livelihoods, well-being, and dignity.

The girls and mothers thus learn skills that allow them to work after completing the course." She says.

A most touching story is that of Amira Faisal Mohammed Mukaram, a 19-year-old girl born in Yemen to a Yemeni father and a Somali mother. Her mother, Jamila Abdile Orey, fled to Yemen during the Somali civil war at the age of 26, where she met Amira's father, but with the outbreak of the Yemeni conflict in 2014, the family was sent to Somalia, first to Bossaso and then to Mogadishu.

Amira”, says her mother, “is deaf, which is why I speak on her behalf. In the past, she studied at the school for the deaf, but then the fees increased from seven to 30 dollars and it was difficult to pay. Moreover, Amira was not happy... but now she is happy and has the desire to work, putting her skills into practice.”

Amira lost her hearing due to an illness from which she has suffered since childhood, which damaged her ears due to constant fainting. Doctors said she would have to undergo surgery, but her mother could not afford the medical expenses. Today, however, after graduating from high school, Amira received 400 dollars, which helped her to start a small business. Both she and her mother are hopeful for the future.

COOPI has been present in Somalia since 1984 carrying out both emergency activities and development projects to build the resilience of the vulnerable population and provide them with adequate livelihoods.