The Somalia Human Development Report is dedicated to Somalia’s young women and men, highlighting that a failure to invest in youth as an asset for the broader economy and society will continue to incur formidable costs, including the perpetuation of intergenerational poverty and conflict, and notes that ‘in a shattered economy, many youth have no options but to remain idle or search for alternatives such as migration or illegal activities’. The report also highlights the issues that age and skills compared to market demands are at a mismatch. The overall unemployment rate for youth between 14 and 29 years was found at 67%.
We help young adults as they face a significant stage in their lives when transitioning to different statuses and environments, and we ensure these transitions are smooth and meaningful. We offer life skills-based education to overcome daily life challenges, attain a positive future, and contribute to peace and stability. We engage young people through drama and poetry, and the beneficiaries are classified into small groups; each group contains six to eight youth, so they can drive creative drama and poetry to other youth participants for the sessions based on real-life events in their communities.
The life skills prepares young people for the workplace ethically, productivity and professionalism, and for that reason, young graduates are ensured to be trained with the following themes and more:
- Job search and networking;
- Developing Job applications and resumes;
- Preparing for an interview, developing Interview skills,
For livelihood alternatives, they are aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, namely to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all,” and they consist of three priority areas:
- Fostering youth employment and entrepreneurship.
- Promoting equity and gender equality.
- Facilitating the transition to green economies and sustainable societies.
The aim of our employability and job creation is to address the shortage of skilled labour in key productive sectors of the Somalia market and one of the main reasons for high unemployment and low productivity in the east African regions through research and engaging local youth and communities. Mainly through establishing vocational training centers in the country, our projects address the supply of an adequate labour force in the productive sector by evidence-based research, the National Development Plan, government strategy, and the UN 2030 youth strategy. The established training centers will provide tailored training for workers in both basic and advanced production techniques in the short and long run.
We support inclusive and green economic growth, which includes promoting reforms to improve the business environment and legal frameworks that are necessary to support economic growth and local and regional economic integration.
Youth rehabilitation and community integration.
Our youth risk initiatives contribute to peacebuilding, conflict resolution, social stability, and transformation through the reduction of youth-induced conflicts and violent activities. The rehabilitation of the youth who are a security threat and promoting their social integration make a wide stride towards improving the security of their communities and regions. The extra learning and teaching activities and youth’s involvement in communal voluntary activities are included in our social rehabilitation program, which positively impacts the social stability and integration of the communities and reduces the threat of inter-community conflicts which allows a chance for the youth to be accepted by the communities and reinforces the sharing of common interests and aspirations by all members.
Our activities transform potential security threats (at-risk youth) into peace agents in their communities. The peace messages of the rehabilitated youth reaching their peers who are still involved in criminal activities are expected to attract more of them to abandon their criminal past. The transition of the youth from violence to mainstream social and economic productivity has a wider positive impact on the transformation of communities.
The citizens who live in safer environments as a result of our activities and interventions are bound to have improved living standards devoid of fear of brutal killings and persecutions. Heightened community integration and social stability are key indicators for economic development that will positively impact the wellbeing of the individual family.
A secure and stable environment is conducive to the growth of the business sector as the level of investment increases in the country, which is experiencing massive reconstruction. As a result, the expanding economic sectors would have the ability to absorb many people (mostly youth) who are currently unemployed or underemployed, thus improving their living standards.