NGM Blog Central - In Somalia, Food Centers Combat Crisis - National Geographic Magazine

Clutching bowls, boys wait at a feeding center for what could be their only meal of the day—a soup of corn and lentils. Once aid groups handed out dry rations. Now they distribute food cooked, to avoid attracting looters. Photograph by Pascal Maitre

Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu is a war zone. Rival militias, al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, as well as the Transitional Federal Government, fight for control of the city. Bombings, kidnappings, and shootings are part of everyday life. Ironically, the food centers run by the Somali nonprofit SAACID are some of the safest places to be.

“The agreement we have forged with all militias and factions is that the 16 feeding centers are safe zones–no one is to come near the kitchens with weapons,” says Tony Burns, who directs SAACID. Seven unarmed security guards provide crowd control at each site.

Providing hope amid chaos, the kitchens make food available to some 325,000 people in the capital, where malnutrition is widespread. Children often take what may be their only meal of the day—corn and lentil soup—home to share with their families.

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“We have had some day-to-day closures at some sites due to an occasional incident, but no major ones at any of the sites to date,” Burns says. “All factions protect the sites, as they feed faction members’ families.”

Burns credits “trust and genuine community ownership” for the program’s success. In 22 months of operation, the kitchens have averaged 0.45 incidents a month, which can include accidental deaths, while the general violence kills an average of 20 people each day.

Yet for nearly five weeks this past summer, even the kitchens were forced to close their doors, because militias had taken over the program’s sole milling and grinding center. Milling operations have since been moved to another district in the city, and the kitchens reopened in late July.

Still, the food crisis in Somalia is worsening. “Somalia is facing an unprecedented urban and rural food crisis,” according to a World Food Programme (WFP) report. More than 3 million people—over 40 percent of the country's population—now need emergency food aid or support.

Lack of money has nearly shut down the kitchens. But the WFP, which pays for much of the food, has just agreed to fund the program for one more year. —Christy Ullrich

To learn more about the program, go to www.saacid.org.

Posted by National Geographic Staff | Comments (1)
Filed Under: Between the Lines, Food Crisis

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Colin Mackay
Oct 6, 2009 5PM #

I have been following SAACID's efforts for a considerable time now, and believe them to be incredibly courageous. I wish them the best and hope that some govt see their work and want to support it in a real way.

Colin

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