FABE (Flexible Approach for Basic Education)

FABE (Flexible Approach for Basic Education)

Funded by the African Education Trust and implemented by Faqih Foundation for Development, the FABE project offers tutors for nomad students living in rural areas, especially in Farsooley, in the Lower Shabelle region.

South and Central Somalia have one of the lowest literacy rates in the country; The enrollment rate for primary school is less than 30%, and far lower outside urban centers. Access to education in rural areas differs considerably depending on the nature of the settlement or community, with those living in nomadic and pastoralist communities receiving the least provision and financial support for education. In AET's recent report "A Study of the Educational Needs of Young People in Nomadic and Pastoralist communities" it was found that out of 26 communities there had been no access to primary or non-formal education for any girls in the last 3 years. Some boys had been able to attend school but only by leaving the community (AET, 2011).

Through a series of community consultations AET established literacy and numeracy as the educational priority for nomadic and pastoralist community elders and youth in south and central Somalia. Based on this information, the Faqih Foundation for Development (FFD) undertook a pilot project to provide basic literacy and numeracy training for 14-25 year olds in 12 Nomadic and Pastoralist communities. Daily classes, timed to fit around work patterns, were taught by teachers trained from within the community, with great success. Demand from the communities for equivalent classes to be provided for children has led AET to build on this experience and develop a project that expands the provision of flexible basic education to primary.

Following an agreement between the African educational Trust (AET) and Faqih Foundation for Development, a one year project was established together with community contributions concerning security and classes. Since the organization is based in this region, developmental programs implemented there enable population in the province to get education free of charge. Parents in south and central Somalia are unable to pay school fees, as their economy depends on small hand farms and cattle and camel herders.

FABE -Flexible Approach for Basic Education- is a Program which is supports education for nomad children aged between 8-14.

The agreement between African Education Trust regional manager Ismail Mohamed Omar and Faqih Foundation for Development (FFD) Director Omar Faruq Sheikh Hassan Ahmed.

Flexible approach for basic education (FABE) is the easiest way to transmit knowledge to children who haven't got the chance to enroll to formal education yet. Target areas are villages that don't have access to primary and secondary education, where most of the children are busy raising livestock or cultivating farms, and thus cannot attend schools. The FABE project is therefore aimed at filling the gaps left by the lack of formal education.

Through monitoring and evaluation, they found that levels of student attendance are low due to severe draughts especially in the Farsooley Lower Shabelle area, which force residents to move away from their home in search of pasture for their animals.

The Faqih Foundation for Development has two office centers in Mogadishu as well as an officer in Lower Shabelle. Three types of nomadic and pastoralist communities in the region were identified in AET's report: communities who depend only on livestock and have no home; communities with a home location where some crops are grown but who move during the dry season to locations with temporary housing; and communities with a permanent village where some members stay permanently (generally women, children and elderly) whilst others move with the larger livestock.

Other activities

Health care

Sharif Mohamed Abdullah Hussein, Director of UAE Red Cross in Somalia and Omar faruq Sheikh Hassan Ahmed, Director of Faqih Foundation for Development, held a meeting at Restaurant Valley Hotel In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The organizations joined their efforts towards an upgrading in terms of humanitarian capacity, building mosques, excavating wells, and helping communities. Both organizations welcome international NGO'S and donors who want to participate on this project focused on poor communities.

The foundation prepared nurses and health workers in the area, by giving them first Aid and related basic subjects. They attempted to improve clinics and the dispensaries in the region, since Qoryoley Hospital doesn't function adequately ever since the collapse of the former Government in 1991. Therefore, they agreed with hospital Director Dr. Mahomed Xusein Muumin to train nurses professionally in another hospital.

Other activities included:

1. Free medical checkups every Thursday.

2. Organizing environment health care.

3. Increasing the level of comprehension about health.

4. Informing Somalia youth on HIV/AIDS.

5. Providing functional information about Somalia health issues.

6. Building a health training centre for students and bringing them back to hospital.

Every month, Faqih Foundation for Development monitored all the activities in the field and released a monthly report based on visits to pastoralist communities in rural areas, urban areas, and the training center implemented by the foundation.

Education

Since 2011, Faqih Foundation for Development has been working to fill the vast gap in education services in a country brought to its knees by years of conflict. Through its range of innovative education services, Faqih Foundation for Development has reached out to generations of children and adults who have missed out on education, and has gradually raised levels of literacy and numeracy across south and central Somalia, especially in rural and forgotten communities. Many students have learned writing and reading, with tutors working on a volunteer basis.

The Faqih Foundation for Development is one of the few organizations in this area specialized on education and skills and capacity building. Although there is no direct support from international Humanitarian Aid organizations, they manage to support Somali communities, with particular reference to vulnerable people in lower Shabele region.

The organization opened two schools in Afgoi, named Ustaad Osmaan primary school and Fathu rahman primary school. The organization also implemented educational projects in the Qoyoley district of lower Shabelle region, with Mahad Abdiyow Sanlaawe primary school. In addition, three other informal schools where established, and a center for educational studies which intended to prepare nurses and health workers by giving them first Aid and related basic subjects.

The activities of the organization are not only confined in the above-mentioned programs.

The organization held different seminars such as: