Ayan Ahmed: An opportunity to employment through vocational skills training

She is an internally displaced person (IDP) living in Salama IDP camp; a mother of six children whose vulnerability is compounded by the devastating past where she lost some members of her family in the sickening civil war. Ayan and her family were displaced from the south to the northern part of Somalia and eventually ended up in South Galkayo. But tensions and conflicts in that area too forced her and her vulnerable family to move to a little safe place inside Puntland.

Ayan depended on relief aid from well-wishers and particularly international NGOs for livelihood and social protection support. She and her husband did not have any relative from abroad to augment their income.



In her struggle to earn a living for her family, Ayan has seen and endure all forms of humiliation. She has worked as a cleaner in people’s homes, garbage collector, walking from hotel to hotel asking for any manual job including washing of clothes. At one point she contemplated begging in the streets.



All along she always hoped for a programme that would facilitate and ensure her a durable and dependable source of income and establish strong resilience. She had envisioned doing any light course whose skills are marketable.

International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR started a project that provided vocational skills training and business management training to IDPS in Galkayo. Ayan was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the beneficiaries of the project. She did a tailoring course for 3 months.



“I thank God for this opportunity. After this training, and with the grants provided, I am now able to start my business and earn a living. If all goes well, I can even employ someone to assists me in my new business,” Ayan said with a smile on her face while she was making a garment in one of the classes.



Ayan says she can design, draw and make table clothes, collars and major parts of the clothes e.g. collar, sleeves, waist bands among others. She can comfortably handle and use the sewing machine and she has basic skills of stitching.

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