One of the best decisions Ibrahim Mohamed Hussein ever made was to set up his vegetable stall that is now providing a decent living for his wife and nine children in the displacement camp where they have lived for about three years in the southern Somali town of Baidoa.
“We were only cooking once a day, but now we cook three times. We can make breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the children. Their lives have improved greatly,” Ibrahim told Radio Ergo’s local reporter.
Before starting this small business in May, his family were struggling for meals. But he now makes $4-5 profit a day, which has freed his family from the uncertainty over food.
“I used to worry every day about how I would feed my children or where I would get food for my wife. But now, those worries are gone. Since I started this business, everything has become much easier, and our life is better,” he said.
Ibrahim’s journey to Baidoa began in 2021 when he and his family fled severe drought in Aliyow-Mumin village in Bay region. Their three-hectare farm in the village was ruined by prolonged drought and they could no longer feed themselves.
They moved to Daryel IDP camp in search of a better life, but the conditions in the camp proved difficult. They depended heavily on begging, with his wife often asking their neighbours for handouts to feed her children. They survived on what little food she brought back, and when she couldn’t find any, they went to bed hungry.
Ibrahim said some of his friends advised him to take up small business activities, so he borrowed $100 from a relative and invested it in buying his first supply of fresh vegetables.
Two months on, he paid back the loan and started to see profits that exceeded his expectations. In August, Ibrahim enrolled three of his children in school for the first time. He pays $25 a month for their education, marking a new chapter for his children.
With the success of his vegetable business, Ibrahim hopes to move his family out of the camp by the end of the year. He believes moving to the city will be better for them now that he has a stable source of income.
Many other displaced men and women have started small businesses to support their families. Although the profits are small, the change in their lives has been significant.
Nur Daud Ali began selling goods from a small table in June and the business now supports his family of nine. He previously worked in construction, but the work was inconsistent and he struggled making $3-4 on the couple of days a week when he was called for a job.
“Now I can work whenever I want. If I don’t feel like working, I can rest, unlike before when people would ask why I wasn’t working. My children now have regular meals, and people in the city know me. If I need anything, I can ask for a loan and they will help me,” Nur said.
He raised $150 with the help of relatives to start off his business in the camp. He divides his earnings between providing for his family, reinvesting in his stall, and paying for his children’s education.
Nur is proud to have six of his children attending school regularly, which was impossible when he worked as a casual labourer in construction.
Both Ibrahim and Nur view their businesses as a path to changing their families’ futures. They both aspire to eventually move out of the displacement camps and into more stable housing within the city.
A regular customer of these two small business owners, Mayow Osman Abdulle, expressed satisfaction with their services, particularly their affordable prices and willingness to deliver orders.
He sees their efforts as not only a solution to their own problems but also as a contribution to the broader economic needs of the community.
For many displaced individuals living in camps, entrepreneurship has become a new path forward. Instead of waiting for aid, they have taken control of their circumstances and are creating better futures for themselves and their families.
Source: Radio Ergo
