Story summary

Mohamed* is a 15-year-old 7th-grade student who resides in one of the refugee camps in Liban zone of the Somali region of Ethiopia. Having lost both his parents, Mohamed now lives with his aunt. He fled with his relatives from his country Somalia following a conflict.

Mohamed enjoys participating in child-friendly activities at a center established by Save the Children and supported by funding from BPRM. The center serves both refugee and host community children. At the center, refugee children like Mohamed receive psychosocial support and essential non-food items (NFI) such as blankets, clothing, and soap; items that are specifically prepared for separated and unaccompanied children. Indoor and outdoor play is also encouraged.

Mohamed’s story in his own words (Quotes): 

"My name is Mohamed, and I am in seventh grade. I live with my aunt in the refugee camp.”

“Every morning, I attend Quran lessons. Afterwards, I return home for breakfast and then head to school. In the afternoon, I go to the center to play with my friends.”

"I love playing football at the center with my friends. After class, we gather there to play various games, but football is my favorite. I truly enjoy spending time at this center and engaging with my friends. I never get bored when I'm here."

"I have a passion for both English and Somali language subjects. My dream for the future is to become a teacher."
"At the center, the facilitators offer me guidance and encourage me to prioritize my studies. Their support is invaluable to me. Furthermore, I receive various items such as blanket, clothing and soap."

Background / Project information 

Save the Children has been delivering humanitarian services in Liban Zone, Dollo Ado since 2009. It has been providing child protection and education services to refugees and the host community through Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (BPRM) project. The refugee strategy presents an integrated child protection and education approach to ensure that the most vulnerable children in the refugee camps receive quality case management and referrals, required psycho-social support, as well as better education access for younger ages. The project intends to build on the gains achieved in improving the wellbeing of vulnerable children through BPRM’s financial support in the last four consecutive years. There are 32,294 (20,242 refugee and 2,052 host community) project participants in Buramino, Hilaweyn, Kobe, Melkadida, Bokolmayo refugee camps.

In addition, child protection interventions in the refugee camp deliver prevention and response activities and advocate for the rights of refugee children. The project has supported thousands of children in Dolo Ado refugee camps including unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) and other children at risk. Children receive both direct and indirect support through advocating for their rights, provision of nonfood items NFIs, trainings to community, case management services and referrals.