A home,a refuge, a place of safety and comfort for Amina's family

It is a tidy little homestead with acacia fencing.  There are six or seven chicken coops contrived from old pieces of tin stitched together with bits of wire; a rooster makes the rounds on their 20x20 meter plot. This is where the Jimale family live. They had moved to Dolow from Gedweyne village in doolow district four-years ago to escape conflict.

Mrs. Amina Adan Mohamed had just that morning met with the World Vision shelter team at the model home site to choose what type of house her and her family were going to receive.  She was presented with three house typologies with their advantages and disadvantages, and allowed to visit each typology. Mrs. Amina recounted how she had chosen the cement brick house with elevated foundation.  This 4X4 meter house is made completely from cement sand blocks and has a ten-inch step.  She noted that though her family were eight in number (4 girls and 2 boys), she preferred the safety and comfort of the smaller but more permanent house. 

She remarked, “I feel safer in a permanent structure, rather than a tin sheet house”.  She noted that as they live on the edge of Kabassa IDP settlement, security is a key concern for her family, highlighting fear of robbery.  She recounted that their current makeshift house was not very good at keeping out snakes either and she is happy about the elevated step provided in the cement block design.  Moreover, their current makeshift house does not keep out the rain and dampness and hopes that her new house will be dry even during the wet season.  Finally, she also noted that the permanent house will offer them comfort from the hot Dollow sun.

Mrs. Amina talks about her new home

Mrs. Amina’s son Nijab chimed in at this point, “The heat is very bad where we live. I am looking forward to staying in a cool cement house and also away from snakes and insects as they are a real problem here.”

He was excited about the prospect of a new permanent house.