Rukia* is a mother of seven, lives in a remote village in the Somali region where she raises livestock. Her family’s livelihood depends entirely on the livestock for both income and sustenance. However during long dry periods, her livestock was not producing enough milk to feed her children and be a useful source of income for Rukia*.
In 2022, Rukia and her family had to leave their home village, which is located far from where they currently settled. They were escaping severe dry weather conditions caused by consecutive failed rains, which led to a critical shortage of water and pasture for their livestock and themselves. The prolonged dry spell resulted in the loss of most of their livestock, but the family relocated with support from the local administration and humanitarian organizations.
How Save the Children is helping
Rukia* received 225 kilograms of supplementary animal feed, and instructions for preparation and use. With the new animal feed, Rukia* has seen a lot of positive changes in the condition and productivity of her livestock which are vital sources of nutrition for her and her family. The milk yield from the cows has increased, and the overall health of the animals is much better now.
Rukia’s Story in her own words
My name is Rukia, and I have seven children. My eldest is a 13-year-old girl, and the youngest boy just turned nine months. The first four of my children attend school, they are in sixth, fifth, second, and first grade at the nearby rural school.
Raising livestock is the mainstay for our family of eight, and we entirely depend on our animals for a living and income. However, these days, the income from our livestock has significantly declined, both because of the dry conditions caused by erratic seasonal rainfall and a drop in livestock prices due to weakened body condition and pasture scarcities.
About four years ago, we experienced one of the worst dry spells in many years. I lost five heads of cattle, one camel, and over twenty sheep and goats. With no option at the time and nothing left to provide for my children, we finally decided to leave our home and relocate here, hoping to receive assistance from the local administration and humanitarian agencies.
We walked for days until we reached our current location, and we have lived here ever since. Presently, we are concerned about delayed rainfall; the last rains were here about seven months ago, and even then, the pasture lands did not grow enough grass. Milk has reduced and hence our children get less to drink.
Before, I used to milk up to three liters from a single cow. Nowadays, each cow gives only one or one and a half liters of milk per day, and that's not enough for my children. Seeing our situation, Save the Children gave us improved animal feed. I received 225 kilograms of supplementary animal feed, and instructions for preparation and use. With the new animal feed, I have seen a lot of changes in the body condition and productivity of my livestock. The milk yield from the cows has increased, and the overall health of the animals is much better now.
I usually feed my children Injera (flatbread made from corn or wheat), with milk or tea. Sometimes I give them rice with a spicy sauce, which they enjoy the most. However, the price of food is increasing in the market, but that of our livestock is not. For example, 25 kg of rice at the local market costs 4,000 Birr ($26), and 50 kg of corn/wheat costs 3,000 Birr ($20). If I wanted to buy rice or corn, I would have to sell two goats.
We hope to diversify our income by engaging in crop farming in addition to raising livestock by using water from the nearby Shebelle River, which is within walking distance of our home. However, starting this activity requires an investment that is beyond our means, we would need to purchase a water pump generator.
We would be deeply grateful for support in obtaining a water pump generator, as it would enable us to produce our own food.
My dream for my children is that they finish school and get jobs in a government office, so they can support themselves and us. Insha Allah, the rain will come in twenty days, and the pasture will improve so the livestock can feed properly.
Rukia* feeds her milking cow with improved animal feed provided by Save the Children’s Anticipatory Action project, funded by Save the Children Korea. The project helps families affected by dry conditions to protect their core breeding livestock during dry spells until the situation improves. In addition to safeguarding her animals, Rukia can now get milk from the cow that she provides for her youngest children. Without this support, her family’s food security would be severely threatened. Seifu Asseged / Save the Children
Project Background
In the arid lands of the rural communities of the Somali region, pastoralist families like Rahwa’s have long faced the harsh realities of climate change, prolonged dry spells, diminishing water sources, and the loss of livestock, which are their main source of food and income. These recurring climate-induced water scarcities and pasture deficits threaten not only the survival of their animals but also the health and well-being of their children.
Key actions include strengthening child-centered and community led early warning systems and anticipatory action in areas most affected by climate hazards, enhancing community capacity for early warning and early response to enable communities to better anticipate, assess, and prepare for local risks, and minimize potential disasters by embedding resilience and preparedness into local structures and practices.
The project focuses on three key pillars: strengthening early warning systems, early action, and early response. Key interventions include the timely dissemination of localized, relevant, user-friendly, and easily accessible weather and climate information, alerts, and advisories to minimize the impacts of predictable crises such as dry spells, floods, and disease outbreaks.
As part of its anticipatory action initiative, Save the Children, with funding from Save the Children Korea, is implementing a project aimed at improving community resilience to climate shocks by strengthening early warning systems, timely preparedness, and early response to climate-related hazards. The provision of improved animal feed is among its key interventions of early response mechanism for communities experiencing dry conditions due to delayed and insufficient rainfall situations. To date, we have reached over 420 households through the distribution of concentrated supplementary animal feed, as well as the supply of improved crop and fodder seeds.
Rukia* poses for a family portrait with her seven children outside their home in Ethiopia’s Somali region. Four of her children attend school, in grades six, five, two, and one. The family depends on livestock for income and food—a way of life severely affected by the failed Dayr rainy season (October to December), which brought dry conditions to the majority of the region. Seifu Asseged / Save the Children
