Somalia Famine: Amino's Story
Many women in Somalia, including the women I spoke to, are now entering roles they are not accustomed to, such as being the sole provider for their children. Families are being torn apart through violence or fear of poverty
The men often stay behind, not wanting to give up the land that has been passed down to them through generations and hopeful that at some point it will begin to yield a living for them again.
I met with Amino who had lost her husband to clan fighting. A year ago, she was given a hope shop by Muslim Hands, including one month of stock. Her bright blue shop, filled with a variety of food essentials, popped out against the backdrop of the dusty yellow camp.
Amino told us through tears, ‘I feel very proud opening this shop every day and I earn enough to provide for three generations - myself, my mother and my daughter and her children, who also lost their husband and father when he was caught in violent crossfire. Two years ago, I lost everything because of the famine and it was extremely difficult to support my family. But now I can’t express how happy I am, and I didn’t know that such kind and generous people existed in the world.’
