Stories of change from the drought resilience and sustainable livelihoods program (DRSLP-II)-Somalia project

This booklet presents the success stories from the Drought Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods Program (DRSLP-II), which is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and implemented by Save the Children Somalia/Somaliland through the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to counteract the adverse effects of recurrent droughts in the Horn of Africa region, including Somalia/Somaliland.

Lessons learned in the publication included: 

• Improved sense of community ownership and technical knowledge after giving them training: During the implementation of the gully erosion control structures in Jeded village, Save the Children noticed that the local community organized themselves in groups and rehabilitated additional gullies which were not among the planned interventions to save their village from the encircling gullies.
• Improved government revenue: the constructed livestock facilities, especially the livestock markets, have increased government revenues.
• Increased family income and improved access to social services: Save the Children implemented women centred VSLA Scheme in two districts in Puntland and during the implementation of this scheme, researchers learned that most of the women in Qardho districts were agri-pastoralists and the loan has significantly changed their income and hence their access to social services including more children going to school.