SFS wraps up successful youth skills training in Garowe

In July 2011, 170 young Puntlanders completed a six-month youth skills training course with SFS. To prepare them to enter the workforce, SFS trained these 15- to 24-year-olds in a variety of practical skills, including communication, accounting and technology. SFS has already placed almost a quarter of the participants in paid jobs, another quarter as interns to continue developing their skills, and has commitments from local organizations to place another 30 percent of the young... Read More

Somali Family Services wraps up successful Universal Periodic Review

In October 2010, Somali Family Services (SFS) invited 12 NGOs based in Garowe to partake in a meeting facilitated by Fiona Adolu, Legal Officer from the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights. The meeting, which took place at the Puntland Library & Resource Center, had the goal of bringing together members of civil society to produce reports on the human rights-related achievements, best practices, challenges and constraints in Puntland. The meeting formed part... Read More

SFS distributes over 5,000 books throughout Puntland

Since 2002, Somali Family Services has partnered with Books for Africa, Counterpart International and UNICEF to deliver 5,278 much-needed books, textbooks and other resources to the Puntland community. These books have reached all eight regions of Puntland, and have been delivered to NGOs and various educational institutions, including Puntland State University, East Africa University, Garowe Teachers’ Education College and Nugaal University. Furthermore, SFS’s Puntland Library... Read More

Puntland Library & Resource Center is “a place to read”

Books are a rare commodity in Puntland.  With a rise in displaced people fleeing the conflict in Mogadishu, piracy along the coast and an estimated 77% of the population which is illiterate, books may not seem to be the most pressing need. But Abdurashid Ali, the Executive Director of the Puntland Library and Resource Center, disagrees In his view, the Center brings together civil society groups in Puntland, fosters discussions among groups, and help them articulate their agenda... Read More