Trip to the Field

Once again I’m quite behind with this blog. I suppose it will continue like this. Catch up. Get busy. Fall behind. Repeat.

In June I traveled to central Somalia to Galkacyo and then further north to Garowe.  The purpose was to spend some time with the teams there since it had been I had been able to travel there given obligations in Mogadishu over the past few months. I also needed to visit some activities to prepare some communications for donors. Meet local officials. Attend a project launch. Etc.

Day 1 - Galkacyo

I left early on Sunday morning, the first day of the work week. After a couple of flights I was settled in to our office in Galkacyo (gal-kye-oh), which is located in central Somalia not too far from the border with Ethiopia. I started off with a quick lunch and immediately began meeting with local officials. This sort of thing is important for my work and I do enjoy it. It’s always a challenge for me to prioritize such things given that I much prefer visiting activities or meeting with staff. Fortunately, my team on the ground wants these things to happen and they are good about sorting out who I should meeting and fitting it in the itinerary. 

pumped by energy from the sun

After meeting with four officials, we were soon in a vehicle and heading out to visit a borehole rehabilitation that our organization did. It was a bit of a drive but doable in an afternoon. We were able to see the solar panels that were installed along with the accompanying pump. It had only been installed a couple weeks prior so the work was still fresh. The community was super happy and, though they had loads of additional requests for me, being able to access water without the need of a diesel engine to power a pump was huge. It would make them far more resilient to future droughts. The borehole would also be accessible to passing pastoralists and thus serve a much broader population than just the community itself.

turning desert into farms

pretty impressive

The other thing that was impressive was the farming that was being established in the area surrounding the borehole. The increased accessibility of the water was enabling the community to plant crops, an added benefit to the community. As of now, fruits and vegetables for communities like this need to be brought in from the southern river valleys that supply most of the country. It’s expensive and the distances are great. With the often intense heat, transporting fruit and vegetables successfully is not an easy process. 

the village supported by the borehole

meeting the elders

Soon the sun was getting low and it was time to get back to the office. It’s a long day by the time I return to the office for dinner – getting up at 4am to catch the flight, loads of activities, meetings, etc. I was ready to eat, fire off some emails and go to bed early.

not an easy life

Day 2 - Galkacyo

The next morning picked up where the previous day left off. I would have more meetings with government officials, another borehole to visit and a visit to some women’s empowerment activities. The meetings generally went well. The borehole visit went much as it did the day prior. For the women’s activities, we went to a place that I had been to last year. It was a place for women to gather, learn job skills and participate in various sensitization/educational activities. The visit went much as it did the last time but this time I was armed with the knowledge of the previous visit. Always helps in having more in depth conversations. One hard thing about what I do is that you visit loads of different activities in different domains and it often doesn’t allow you to get too deep in your knowledge. But the deeper you can go, the more the people you speak with feel like you are interested. You don’t need to be an expert – that’s why they are there. But you need to know enough to engage with these experts on the ground and improve the way that you support them at a higher level. 

tailoring...

...tie dye...

and henna tattoo job skills

upper deck has air conditioning and a nice view

By mid-afternoon we returned to the office for a rather lengthy roundtable discussion with staff to finish off the day. The plan was to wrap up by sunset given that I had a few staff that were doing the extended Ramadan fast. We nearly made it but the active conversation went on longer than expected.

Day 3 - Galkacyo to Garowe

On Tuesday, it was off to Garowe. This is the state of Puntland in northern Somalia which has a considerable amount of independence. All states in Somalia have a fair amount of independence as the federal system is still getting off the ground, but Puntland is a bit further down the road. I like going there and meeting with officials, most of whom seem to be on top of things and really trying to not only solidify the gains they have made over the past few years but build on them. The tricky situation they are in is balancing their beloved independence with their engagement in the federal project. Most people I talked to there say that they are on board with federalism but they have a lot of reservations about how this might happen. People often talk about corruption, ethnic partisanship and raise questions over the hot topic of resource sharing, how resources will be shared between the federal government and the states. I think one needs a long-term perspective in these things. Often Western powers are more short-sighted. I get the feeling that people here are not naïve about how quickly one moves from a failed state to a fully functional democratic federal system. It’s going to take years and it will require more cooperation from the inside as well as some help from the outside – help that is open to a model that doesn’t fit other contexts.

the departure lounge in Galkacyo

The flight from Galkacyo to Garowe is only a little over an hour, depending on the plane. I was taken directly to the launch of a project we are doing with the World Bank. It’s exciting to see it finally getting off the ground given that it has been in the works for over three years. I arrived late due to my travels but I was able to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony, pose for some photos and have lunch with the Minister of Women’s Affairs as well as our counterpart from the WB and some of my team. I was glad to have made it in time for at least that much. 

cutting the garland "ribbon"

Afterwards we went to the office where I settled into my room at the guesthouse. I would have a few meetings in the office before retiring for the day.

Day 4 - Garowe

On Wednesday we headed out to visit a project in an area that was new to me. I have had the opportunity to visit quite a bit of Somalia but it’s a surprisingly big place. Roads are often bad making it seem even bigger. Drivers aren't always paying attention on the long stretches of road making things more treacherous.

erosion caused by flooding made the shoulder of the road disappear; no margin for error

apparently this one ended as you might think

We went north from Garowe up the tarmac road toward Qardho, a place I’ve been to a couple of times. Before arriving in Qardho, we turned off the main road heading east. This was one of those “roads” that I’ve been on a few times that go from two defined wheel tracks to multiple tracks, to no tracks at all. Somehow these guys know where they’re going. We had a convoy of four vehicles including some of my staff, the security detail and some Puntland officials who joined as well.

I would need a functioning GPS if I were driving

After about an hour of driving across the desolate Somali landscape we began to see some small buildings. It always amazes me when driving across Somalia, in the middle of nowhere you come across people walking with goats or camels. Nothing for miles in either direction. It astounds me how they survive.

this is not Ceel Buh; some areas we passed through had received considerable rain creating a beautiful landscape

The other thing is the existence of these remote villages. I asked why this town of Ceel Buh (the c is silent) exists. Why (how?) do people live in such a remote place? I was told that there was water, in fact that’s one of the things that we support is a solar water pump for one of the wells. But it’s not just the village itself that benefits. Loads of pastoralists pass through with hundreds of livestock at different times during the year in search of water. It’s also a place where the families of pastoralists reside given that it’s generally the men that move around with the livestock. 

Nonetheless, it’s a harsh lifestyle. The people are resilient and have figured out ways to survive in this climate for hundreds of years. But it’s getting harder and harder as the climate changes, compounded by a growing population that increasingly is unable to survive by the livelihoods of their ancestors. 

The initial activity was the opening of an MCH clinic (mother/child health). In fact in practice it seems to function as a general health center for the village. It was clean and painted. The challenge is obviously making sure that drugs are available and it’s limited in scope. But there’s electricity and it’s meeting the basic needs of the people.

all the important people in Ceel Buh...and me

As we walked out of the center with the local officials, we were extended an invitation to share a meal with them. I, of course, looked at my watch given that we were a long ways away from Garowe, I didn’t want to be out and about after dark. There was a bit of a hesitation among our party but we decided that we had time and the social cost of not accepting the invitation was not something we wanted to bear. So we proceeded further into the village to a small, wood-framed mud house. We took off our shoes as is customary and sat on straw mats. Soon a woman with a pitcher and a large metal bowl entered and we washed our hands. For soap, a young guy came up and sprinkled detergent on my hands as the woman poured the water. Detergent powder is concentrated and you only need a small amount to do the job. He dumped far more than I needed, and more than I could rinse off, so the taste of detergent would be with me throughout the meal.

I had time to ask a lot of questions about life in Ceel Buh as we waited for the food to come. Across the room our four guards sat with their AK-47s leaning up against the dried mud walls. The presence of weapons is something you get used to in Somalia. It’s unfortunate that so many die each year due to intentional or unintentional shootings but it’s just the state of things for now.

Soon a large circular platter was brought in loaded with rice and large chunks of goat. No plates or cutlery, of course and you need to eat with your right hand (the left is considered unclean as it is supposedly the one you clean yourself with). Though I’m left-handed, I’m adept at eating with either hand. It’s a good thing since scooping the rice and not getting it all over the place is not easy.

For some reason the food was particularly good. Simple but yummy. But we needed to get on the “road” and make our way back to Garowe. In the middle of the day there are almost no shadows in this part of the world but as we were moving further into the afternoon they were beginning to lengthen – a sign that we need to get moving. 

yummy lunch

We said our farewells. One of the elders with a warm, wrinkly face told me how rare it is for them to receive Western visitors to the village and how happy he was that I would take the time to come. He jokingly told me that I should be an honorary Somali and offered up one of the daughters of the village as an additional wife given that I only had one. I grinned, thanked him for his generous offer and told him I’d check with my wife. 

I’m not sure if I’ll ever have a chance to go back to such a remote place. Likely not but it was wonderful that I had the chance to go this time. Getting out and seeing the places we work and meeting the people is one of the best parts of my job. For various reasons I don’t get to do it as often as I’d like. Not only do I enjoy it, I think it makes me better at what I do.

Soon we were speeding out across the desert. A pastoralist with his camel train was off in the distance. Would have been a nice photo with the low sun but we didn’t have time to stop and it was far too bouncy to take the picture from the Land Cruiser. So, like many things I’ve seen over the years, it will just have be etched in my mind without the support of a photo. 

We arrived in Garowe as the sun was setting. Tired and dusty, I went up to the guesthouse to make myself some hot tea. Somalis like spicy tea so the taste sort of embeds itself in hot water thermoses, regardless of what one puts in it. So whether you’re making normal black tea, instant coffee or whatever, it always has the spicy taste. I’m the only Westerner who works for us and I’m the only one that seems to notice. So I just live with it. 

Day 5 - Garowe to Nairobi

 

The next day was the long travel day home. The airport in Garowe was recently redone. Previously we were using a dirt airstrip. The renovated terminal is pretty impressive. They even have an automated paid parking area, solar lighting and numerous other things that you might not expect. I soon was on my UN flight to Mogadishu. After a couple hour stopover we continued on to Wajir in Kenya. There’s a bit of a spate between Kenya and Somalia (long story) but basically Kenya is not allowing direct flights from Mogadishu to Nairobi. Allegedly for security reasons. Once passengers are “vetted” in the remote airport of Wajir, the flights can continue on to Nairobi. Frankly speaking, I don’t really see how it makes things any safer. It adds cost and time and is annoying to both Kenyans and Somalis alike (and everybody else). 

It was a full five days of travel. Rewarding but exhausting. Always good to be home with family when it’s all said and done.