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Transforming Lives

Solar Power Brings Light to the Streets in Somalia

When USAID supported the local government with the installation of 27 solar streetlights on the main street in Baidoa, life for residents changed overnight. As in many other cities in Somalia, residents are now doing business and socializing on the streets after sunset.

Fishermen hauling ice onto their boats in Puntland, Somalia

Due to USAID’s support in five coastal communities of Somalia, improvements in cold storage and stronger ties between fishermen and fishing associations are reducing the appeal of piracy by promoting economic growth and food security along the coast.

Fatuma in her grocery kiosk

In response to the considerable needs, USAID is partnering with NGOs and international organizations to implement flexible, cash-based food assistance programs that reach food insecure Somalis, particularly those displaced internally. 

Somali Youth Present: My Mogadishu

Through USAID’s Transition Initiatives for Stabilization project, more than 20 young Somalis captured the city’s rebirth with a photography project they named My Mogadishu. Youth used cameras to capture daily life: exchanging money at a street bureau, buying charcoal in a local market.

"To talk is to reconcile" in Aynabo

When Somaliland’s local council elections sparked protests in the winter of 2012-2013, government representatives, women and young people used the new Aynabo community hall to discuss conflict resolution.

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