Abshiro: Nurturing the Unfortunate
By Jason Nyantino

Buulow village is one of the lucky villages in Hudur town. This is where I meet Sacdiyo Ali Ibrahim, the 27 year old mother of 4 who is not as lucky as her home town. Muulow is one of the villages in Hudur, the headquarters of Bakol province of Somalia, with a fully rehabilitated well that ADRA did during the 6-year implementation of the USAID-funded Emergency Rehabilitation of Water Points project. In fact the impact of the well water in this village cannot escape the eye of any visitor because of the flourishing vegetables all over the place. A clear testimony that the locals are taking ADRA’s efforts to increase availability and accessibility of safe water for domestic use seriously. This perhaps explains why there are so many happy faces in this part of town.

But Sacdiyo, one of ADRA’s 226,000 beneficiaries that the said project benefited, has a story to tell even though she is happily carrying her water pot from the ADRA well. When she spots me carrying a camera together with the ADRA team that is visiting the rehabilitated water points in Bakol, a region that has been hit by a severe drought spanning several years, she mistakes me for a journalist and decides that she has to tell her story to the world.
“I am very elated when I see myself talking to ADRA because I associate ADRA with good tidings”, Sacdiyo starts talking to us having put aside her water pot. She says that for the first time in her life, she has been able to access clean and safe drinking water from the ADRA well and she doesn’t take that for granted. As she told us this, I thought she was just eager to tell us the good things that ADRA had done for her and the family. But as she continues, I learn that she has a more pressing problem.

“15 months ago, I gave birth to my third child and immediately named her Abshiro Rage Sheik. Abshiro is limbless! No legs no arms”, Sacdiyo reveals but she doesn’t forget to remind us how her life has been made easier. “We are very grateful for Buulow hand pump well rehabilitated by ADRA because the distance we cover to get the water is now short and the water is clean and safe for drinking. This is a big boost for my family because with the disabled child, I can’t afford consuming unclean water because that will mean more medical bills and I don’t have money.

Sacdiyo, right, with Abshiro in Buulow village, Hudur, Bakol. Abshiro Sheik with an eye into the future

. Sacdiyo manages a domestic budget of approximately 2 US dollars a day for a family of 6: 4 children and 2 parents and it has not been easy. Her husband, Rage Sheik Husein, is a livestock broker and brings home around 10 dollars a month. This is why Sacdiyo is not looking at a very bright future because on top of the said bills, she also has to think of their house rent that is about 2.3 US dollars a month.

“Before Abshiro was born, I used to sell eggs, ghee, and sorghum in the market and this made it possible for me to meet part of our domestic budget. I want to go back to my business but I have no capital. If my husband or I got something to do now like running some income generating venture, we will be able to bring up Abshiro and her siblings happily. I really want Abshiro to get a good education like any other children out there,” the young mother appeals. As she is about to finish with us, her husband approaches with a water bucket headed for the well for water and we immediately engage him.

Rage Sheik Husein, Abshiro’s father, wearing an expectant face
“My wife and I are set to see Abshiro grow to a happy woman and because of her condition, we will need more that we have at the moment. I need employment so that I am able to fend for this child and my family at large or even a business opportunity which I can run and generate some income,” Husein concurs with his wife and leaves us the ADRA team with loads of food for thought. But there is one thing we promised to do. Tell the world about Abshiro Rage Sheik, the 15-month-old child from Buulow village who needs arms and legs.

The writer is the Public Relations Manager for ADRA Somalia