We're Making a Difference in Gal-Barwaaqo!

It took our team and volunteers at Give to Learn to Grow Foundation over 15 hours from Hargeisa to reach the small village of Gal-Barwaaqo. The community was recently formed after the March 2017 drought,

when many nomads lost their source of income, including camels. They moved across the Sanaag and Sool regions many times, but finally settled to make Gal-Barwaaqo home. The small village was built little by little with donations from diaspora.

We conducted research to see the needs of the community for the children. Nomadic children are often last to receive formal education in East Africa. 

When we asked our project manager, Abdulqani Ahmed, to share his observation after visiting Gal-Barwaaqo, he said, “I was shocked what I saw when we arrived. It really broke my heart to see children without any desks to learn. And many have travelled for months to settle here and call it a home.”

We immediately got to work to help the 100 displaced children receive opportunities to learn and grow in their new found settlement. 

Investing in the education of nomadic children can help many break the cycle of poverty. An educated nomadic child gets the opportunity to support their family with a good education. We are starting village by village to support children who are in need of a primary education. 

Our team immediately ordered desks, school supplies, bags, shoes and clothes for the children to start their educational journey. This action we took is just the start. In a few months, a brand new school will be constructed for the children. 

We are not supporting the 100 children here, but the many nomads who will come to this area once they hear about the educational opportunity for their children. The nomads share information across the region and we hope Gal-Barwaaqo will be a thriving small town where nomadic children receive quality education. 

In addition to building the school, we will be training teachers across the Sool and Sanaag regions. Our goal is to have these teachers to come to Gal-Barwaaqo to teach. Give to Learn to Grow Foundation will continue the school in Gal-Barwaaqo with local talent and local community suppor.t We believe in building with the community to create an environment of collaboration and growth for the local population. The local community is investing in building and we are here to support them.