The people of Somaliland are facing the harshest drought in decades. Devex caught up with Save the Children's area representative in the region to learn about the most pressing needs, lessons learned and the impacts of climate change. Read the full story here: https://www.devex.com/news/87535

1. Drought in photos:
A snapshot of Somaliland's pastoralists
during the worst drought in decades
Photos and captions courtesy of
Felicity McCabe/Save the Children

2. Ayan, 11-years-old. From near Gargara, Awdal region, Somaliland.
Ayan and her family travelled to Gargara five years ago, and have been living in a temporary settlement in the village
ever since. Her family used to own many livestock, but lost most of them during the recent droughts.
Photo and caption: Felicity McCabe/Save the Children

3. Sahel, 26-years-old. From Gargara, Awdal region, Somaliland.
L-R: Sagal, 2-years-old; Yaasir, 4-years-old; Khalid, 6-years-old.
Once a thriving pastoralist with a herd of 60 livestock, Sahel, a mother of three, has been forced to flee her home and
now worries about how she will feed her three young children from one day to the next.
Photo and caption: Felicity McCabe/Save the Children

4. Roda, 18-years-old and daughter Idil, 13-months-old. From near Gargara, Awdal region Somaliland.
Five years ago, Roda and her family travelled to Gargara in search of a better life and basic needs, such as access to
water. Roda’s daughter was born in the temporary camp they live in. Photo and caption: Felicity McCabe/Save the
Children

5. Hassan Haji Tawakal, 80-years-old. From Gargara, Awdal region, Somaliland.
Hassan, a village elder from Gargara, has lived through many droughts in his lifetime, but the recent prolonged lack of
rainfall is the worst he has experienced. Once a pastoralist with a many livestock, Hassan now has no animals left – his
wealth has been destroyed. Photo and caption: Felicity McCabe/Save the Children

6. Aasha, 5-years-old. From Bodale, Maroodi Jeex region, Somaliland.
Aasha lives in Bodale with her mother, father and four siblings. When Aasha was just a one-year-old, a series of
droughts killed many of her family’s herd, forcing them to leave their home in search of better living conditions for
themselves and their remaining livestock. They travelled to about 20 villages before settling again. Photo and caption:
Felicity McCabe/Save the Children

7. Annab, 40-years-old. From Cabdi Geedi, Maroodi Jeex region, Somaliland.
During the recent droughts, 40-year-old Annab feared for the lives of her seven children, who had become weak and
stopped playing. Once a pastoralist with 40 livestock, Annab lost her livelihood to extreme weather conditions and can
no longer afford school fees for her children. Photo and caption: Felicity McCabe/Save the Children

8. Shukri, 50-years-old. From Gargara, Awdal region, Somaliland.
After losing almost all of her livestock to droughts, Shukri needed to find a better source of water for her family and
dwindling herd. Along with many other members of her old village, five years ago she moved to the temporary
settlement she now lives in, where they received emergency water aid. Photo and caption: Felicity McCabe/Save the
Children

9. Ahmed, nine-years-old. From near Gargara, Awdal region Somaliland.
Ahmed lives in a temporary settlement near Gargara with his family. He finds the extreme weather conditions hard to
deal with. Like many young children, he wants to be active, play games and run around, but the lack of water often
leaves him too weak to move. Photo and caption: Felicity McCabe/Save the Children

10. Hawa, 40-years-old and her son, Sadiiq, eight-years-old. From near Gargara, Awdal region, Somaliland.
Hawa and Sadiiq left their home village and walked over the mountains in search of better living conditions after a
series of droughts. Hawa has been a pastoralist all her life, but no longer thinks it’s a sustainable livelihood.
Photo and caption: Felicity McCabe/Save the Children

11. Nora, 20-years-old, and daughter Sahra, one-year-old. From Bodale, Maroodi Jeex region, Somaliland.
Nora lives with her five children and husband in Bodale. She says life is hard as the family earn two thirds less income as
they did when they had more livestock. Photo and caption: Felicity McCabe/Save the Children

12. Mohamed Ali Ismail, 70-years-old. From Bildhaley, Maroodi Jeex region, Somaliland.
Mohamed was born in Bildhaley. He says that in the past 20 years, the changing climate and recurrent droughts have
had a huge impact on the community and their way of life. The younger members of community look to him for advice
on what the future holds, but Mohamed says he does not know what to tell them. Photo and caption: Felicity McCabe/
Save the Children

13. Sahra Yoonis Wacays, 60 years old. From Gargara, Awdal region, Somaliland.
Sahra has been a pastoralist all her life. She lost almost her entire 400 livestock to war, so journeyed to Gargara in
search of a better life for her 10 children. Sahra was able to build her herd back up, until the recent droughts hit and
reduced her herd yet again to just a few goats. Photo and caption: Felicity McCabe/Save the Children