Two school girls holding tree seedlings in front of a white building

Photo: Tatu Hiltunen

Development cooperation in the Horn of Africa

Together with its member organizations, the Finnish Somalia Network implements development projects in different fields in South and Central Somalia, Puntland and Somaliland.

The Finnish Somalia Network aims to facilitate the work of the civil society for peace and development in the Horn of Africa.

Year 2023 starts three new development projects. They are all funded by Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. All three projects focus on increasing the employment opportunities of youth through developing the quality of vocational education training and providing TVET courses for vulnerable youth. The projects are:

Himilo – Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Project

Kaabe – Youth Empowerment Project

Kobciye – Youth Empowerment Project

 

Year 2022 four of FSN’s first joint projects ended.

The long-term objective of both Sahansaho and Ramaad is to stop desertification in the project areas, and Hiil Hooyo aims to improve maternity and infant health by educating local healthcare workers and raising awareness on maternity health. Our latest project Rajo aims to reduce youth unemployment. 

All of the projects have three local and three Finnish partner NGOs. Hiil Hooyo and Rajo both engage Finnish universities of applied sciences while Hiil Hooyo also cooperates with local universities.

The projects were funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, while the Network with its Finnish partners are responsible for the self-financing part. The Sahansaho project started in 2012, Ramaad in 2014 and Hiil Hooyo in 2017. All of these three projects continued till the end of 2022. Rajo started in 2021. 

The map shows all the locations the projects operate in. 

Contents of the map: Youth employment project Himilo operates Taleh, Buhodle and Gardo. Youth employment and vocational training project Kaabe operates in Galkayo, Beledweyne and Afgooye. Kobciye – Youth employment and TVET project is implemented in Hargeisa, Burao and Kismayo.  

 

Three women and a baby at a health center

Group of men who are bent over dry, sandy ground Two women holding tree seedlings with green trees in the background