Somali Women's Learning Project

Life in Garissa district in arid northeastern Kenya is harsh, particularly for women. Nearly 200,000 residents of the district are refugees from neighbouring war-torn Somalia, who live in three massive camps near Dadaab. Some have been in Kenya for nearly two decades, while many more pour across the border every day. Although the resident Kenyan population of Garissa district is also ethnic Somali, the refugees are not allowed to leave the camps or mix with the local population. Women do not have a tradition of participating in civil society, educational opportunities are severely constrained, gender-based violence, early and forced marriages and female genital cutting (FGC) are common.

Radio remains the main source of information for both the refugee and non-refugee population of Garissa, even though radio ownership is extremely low given the tremendous poverty. According to a survey undertaken by UNHCR, only one of 500 refugees owned a radio.  In the male-dominated society, women’s access to the few radios that exist is severely limited. Thanks to a grant from the Starfish Group, thousands of Somali women will gain access to information through Lifeline radios and will be encouraged to listen and discuss topics that affect their lives.

In April 2008, Lifeline Energy teamed up with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), CARE, Save the Children, the National Council of Churches of Kenya, the African Women and Children’s Feature Service, the Pastoralists Journalist Network and STAR-FM to launch the Somali Women’s Learning Project.  Nearly 60 women’s groups, representing approximately 1,200 refugee women, received training on the benefits of radio listening groups and the operations of the Lifeline radio. A group of local trainers is now in place, ready to carry out additional training of women’s groups. The trainers are mainly Somali-speaking journalists, who not only teach the women but also learn from them about the issues they would like to hear discussed on the radio. In the first year, the project will reach 300 listening groups in the refugee camps. In the next two years, 400 women’s groups from the resident Kenyan population will be included.