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This Father’s Day, we honour fathers like Mohamed – showing strength through adversity and love through action.
It’s my daughter that made me a strong father. I stand strong to support my children.
Sitting quietly beside his 10-year-old daughter Ayan, 43-year-old Mohamed reflects on the resilience that defines fatherhood, especially in one of the world’s most challenging environments – Somalia.
Mohamed with his daughter, Ayan, in their shelter.
The reality in Somalia
Somalia has endured decades of hardship – conflict, disease outbreaks, widespread poverty, and increasingly extreme climate shocks. Between 2020 – 2023, the country faced the worst drought in four decades, followed by a once-in-a-century El Niño-driven flood across much of the country in late 2023 and early 2024.
These seasonal extremes have devastated lives and homes, leaving families like Mohamed’s displaced. In 2023 alone, 2.9 million people were forced from their homes, while 6.9 million people across the country are in need of humanitarian assistance.
“Bull” makeshift temporary shelters in Somalia.
In Dollow, where Mohamed now lives with his family, durable shelter and long-term land agreements are essential. Families can no longer wait for temporary fixes – they need homes that withstand the storms ahead.
How ShelterBox is supporting
In partnership with Juba Foundation, ShelterBox launched a long-term project to support more than 2,300 vulnerable families impacted by drought, floods, and conflict.
In Dollow:
- Families received longer-term tenancy agreements (some up to 15 years)
- Durable shelters were built using mudbricks and cement plaster
- Essential household items were distributed
- Adaptations were made for families with disabilities, like Mohamed’s.
From a makeshift bull to a proper shelter
“We were living in a bull that is made up of sticks, some clothes and plastic bags… it was like a bird’s nest.”
Before receiving ShelterBox support, Mohamed and his family lived in a “bull” – a circular, stick-framed shelter wrapped in plastic and fabric. These homes offered little protection from Somalia’s unpredictable weather. Mohamed recalls food spoiling from sandstorms, and nights spent outside during floods.
Thanks to the ShelterBox and Juba Foundation project, Mohamed now calls a safe, sturdy shelter home:
“Life will never be the same. Thanks to ShelterBox and Juba Foundation for this shelter… No one can reject this shelter; it’s a comfortable house and human-being shelter.”
Shelter that supports disability inclusion
Mohamed’s daughter, Ayan, lives with multiple disabilities. She cannot walk, talk, or feed herself. She also has asthma that can lead to breathing emergencies.
Recognising the family’s unique needs, the ShelterBox team provided a disability-inclusive aid package, adapting the shelter with:
- A ramp
- Handrails
- Easy access for Ayan’s wheelchair
“Sometimes when no one is around her, she falls from the wheelchair and gets injured… she needs someone to play with her, help get flies away, and carry her in and out.”
A father’s love and determination
Ayan is my priority because she needs extra care. Sometimes I wake up at 2am to give her water or take her to the toilet. I carry her on my shoulders. That’s my job as her father.
Mohamed and his wife made the decision early on to support their daughter together. After exhausting their savings on medical care, they learned Ayan’s condition was permanent. Rather than feel defeated, Mohamed says he found strength through his role as a father.
Despite challenges like distant hospitals, lack of oxygen, and the difficulty of providing 24/7 care in a displacement camp, Mohamed stands strong – with support from his community and ShelterBox.
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Hope for the future
In the future, our hope is bright. We think we will have more changes in our lives.
This Father’s Day, ShelterBox celebrates Mohamed, and fathers everywhere, who quietly carry incredible burdens with dignity and love.
In the face of disaster, it is often fathers like Mohamed who rebuild stability for their families. Durable shelter offers more than protection – it gives hope, pride, and the foundation for a better future.
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