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Quarterly Magazine Somalia Update: Partnering with MedAir in Somaliland
Quarterly Magazine Somalia Update: Partnering with MedAir in Somaliland
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| Somalia Update: Partnering with MedAir in Somaliland |
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| Wednesday, 25 January 2012 03:10 |
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By John Otten as referenced in Winter2012  Since news that eastern Africa was facing a crisis reached North America, the response has been tremendous. Word & Deed alone received over $300,000 from our faithful and concerned supporters, $270,000 of which qualified for Canadian International Development Agency(CIDA) fund matching. We have chosen to send part of these funds to Word & Deed Holland, who is partnering with MedAir in Somaliland. (The remainder of the funds will be used once we have received a proposal that focuses more heavily on development.)
Although much media attention has been given to Kenya, Ethiopia and southern Somalia, Somaliland (northern Somalia) is in a critical situation. Successive years of drought are affecting the region, and after the failure of rains in the fall of 2010, 40% of Somaliland’s 3.5 million inhabitants are facing severe drought. Because many Somalilanders are pastoralists and live as nomads, it is difficult to estimate the exact number of affected people.
In this area, Word & Deed Holland is working directly with MedAir, an international Christian relief organization with much experience in Somaliland. They have worked there since 2008 to improve access to lifesaving food supplies and to provide basic healthcare, clean water and sanitation. MedAir was also chosen because it is in a position to respond rapidly to the crisis. Â To combat the current crisis, MedAir has prepared a nine month program which focuses on the Nugal Valley, the Sool Plateau and the Togdheer region.
 This emergency aid will focus largely on health and sanitation. Proper nutrition will be provided for those in the targeted areas and improvements in health and sanitation conditions will contribute to food security. Malnourished young children will be treated with special care and those with special medical needs will have access to medicine. Steps will also be taken to prevent diarrhea, infections and waterborne diseases; to this end, a vaccination campaign will be launched. Volunteers will be trained and health workers will receive additional training regarding food security in order to implement these programs.
 These initial steps are crucial and necessary, but we know that these efforts alone do not equal a long-term solution. The Gospel is the center of all real change, because only change that results from a relationship with Christ and the indwelling of His Spirit is lasting. Some Christian NGOs (non-governmental organizations) do not publicize their Christian focus or they would have no entrance to the very countries that need both physical and spiritual aid. Although the presence of the Gospel must be discreet in Somaliland (an almost exclusively Muslim nation), this is no indication that it is absent from the project. In fact, it is their hope in Christ that makes many mission workers willing to risk their lives to enter and serve here. It is our prayer that through these projects our hope will also become the hope of the people in Somaliland.
John Otten is the Director of Administration at Word & Deed Ministries.
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