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The build-up to Christmas is different in the countries across the world in which Trócaire works
Paul Healy, Trócaire Country Director in Somalia
Paul Healy from Co Dublin is Country Director with Trócaire in Somalia. Here, he shares how Christmas will be overshadowed by drought and hunger for millions of people in the East African country which is in the grip of a major hunger crisis.
The build-up to Christmas is certainly different here in Somalia in east Africa, where I work as Country Director for Trócaire. Not a pub in sight, not a Christmas carol to be heard. And it is very hot.
While the cost of living is the main story at home this festive season, it is the devastating hunger crisis driven by drought and climate change that is the focus here, especially in Gedo in southern Somalia where Trócaire has been implementing lifesaving health services for 30 years.
One year ago an estimated 3.2 million people were facing serious humanitarian crisis here. But new figures just released by the UN puts that figure now to more than 7.8 million people, half the population.
Somalia is in its 5th consecutive season of drought which has seen crops fail and more than 3 million livestock die. This has left people with no food or livelihoods. The dire situation has already forced over 1.3 million people from their homes in search of food, water and pasture.
Trócaire is known here as “the Mother of Gedo” by the local community thanks to our long history of providing vital health and nutritional support. But I have never seen the demand for our services so high as this year.
More than 20,000 people go through Trócaire’s four hospitals and 25 health centres every month. Most of them are young children, crying, struggling to survive. They all don’t make it. It is heart-breaking to witness. Sadly, those numbers will increase this Christmas and beyond as a rapidly worsening drought and severe hunger grips the region
Mother Naima Abdi (22) and her one-year-old baby boy Faizal Abdullahai being assessed at the Trócaire run Dollow health referral Centre in Gedo, southern Somalia, using a MUAC (Mid-Upper Arm Circumference) Tape, a colour coded tape which is used on children from 6 months to 5 years to measure malnourishment. The assessment is being overseen by Trocaire nursing coordinator Habiba Ali Maalim and Community Nutrition Worker Ridwan Ali Faqid. Photo: Miriam Donohoe
So it won’t be Santa Claus and the celebrations we enjoy at home at this time of the year that will be on people’s minds in Gedo. Like Joseph and Mary, families here will be on the move, forced to leave their homesteads, their lives on the edge with their animals dead, their harvests withered, and their children severely malnourished.
As thousands of desperate families seek refuge in internally displace people’s camps over the coming weeks, they will receive support from Trocaire staff, and the staff of our partners. They will be met with compassion and kindness, the essence of Christmas.
This lifeline will, in effect, be extended from every county in Ireland, thanks to the ongoing support for Trócaire’s work from the Irish people. It really does mean a lot.
For me it feels right to be part of this story. I’m content to be here. It feels like a Christmas story in some ways. I have been working for Trócaire in Africa and Asia for 14 years and it is one of the great privileges of my life to be working for the agency, on behalf of the people of Ireland.
Of course, I’ll miss home in Dublin and the Christmas dinner in my parent’s house, the craic, the family, a warm fire on a cold night! Who knows maybe next year. But I hope that doing this work, day in-day out, is making a small difference. Somalia is an important place to be. We need to be here with the poorest of the poor, those on the edge of the world.
For Christmas day itself I will be back in Nairobi in Kenya where my wife and children live. The Irish Ambassador will host the Irish in her house for the traditional Christmas Carol event. I will phone home and connect with my family.
We will have my wife’s Kenyan family over on Christmas day. I’ll do all the things that I’m used to doing at home. I’ll put up the tree, go to Midnight Mass, watch ‘It’s a wonderful life’ and play Monopoly. I’ll cook the turkey, make lovely stuffing as my Ma taught me, and hope that my Kenyan family enjoy my western style Christmas ritual. We’ll probably eat outside. It will most likely be a warm day.
But once Christmas is over it will be back to leading the dedicated Trócaire team in Somalia. I will be so thankful for all that I have, and hope that next year will bring something better to those that I am privileged to work with here.
Laura Lalor, an Irish-American who grew up in Cork and Limerick, is Country Director with Trócaire in Sierra Leone. Here she shares how Christmas will be a little different this year in Sierra Leone.
Laura Lalor, Trócaire Country Director in Sierra Leone
The build up to Christmas is certainly different from Ireland here in Sierra Leone in West Africa, where I work as Country Director for Trócaire. The weather is very warm and many of my international friends leave for the Christmas period to return home to their families. However, there is often an influx of overseas Sierra Leoneans that arrive home to Freetown to spend time with their families which brings a lovely festive spirit to the city.
This time of year, I of course miss spending time with my friends and family. I have spent many Christmases abroad as it can be very expensive to buy flights home this time of the year. I generally save my holidays for the summer months when my nieces and nephews are out of school.
This Christmas, instead of roasting by the fire, I will be making a road-trip with friends through Senegal and the Gambia during the Christmas holidays. Several of my friends are Liverpool supporters who were great fans of Sadio Mane – and when we made the travel arrangements Mane was still playing football for Liverpool (now Bayern Munich). Our plan is to visit Mane’s village and then onwards to the UNESCO Heritage site of St Louis in northern Senegal before finishing in Dakar for a few days before returning to Sierra Leone.
2022 was an interesting year for Sierra Leone, so I will also take some time this Christmas to reflect on a very busy few months. While Sierra Leone is a relatively calm country with a beautiful coast line along the Atlantic Ocean, there were protests linked to the increase in cost of living which is echoed across the world. In the last year, Sierra Leone was also challenged by serious flooding and mudslides that has destroyed several homes due to torrential rainfall.
This year, Trócaire’s Sierra Leone team saw many highs in our work on women’s empowerment. In November 2022, with the support of partners, the Gender and Women Empowerment Bill was passed by the Sierra Leone Parliament which states that 30 percent of parliamentary seats and cabinet positions are held by women. The Bill is monumental for the women of Sierra Leone who are routinely discriminated against and at risk of gender-based violence. Sierra Leone is currently ranked 182nd out of 189 countries on the UN’s 2020 Gender Development Index.
Trócaire partners NMJD and Green Scenery organised a walk to parliament in Sierra Leone in support of the new land bills. Photo: Trócaire
While I will miss being at home this Christmas, being an Irish charity worker abroad allows me to communicate the work better to my colleagues and friends in Ireland. It also allows me to share with my colleagues in Sierra Leone the generosity of the Irish people, especially at this time of year. This Christmas, I will be thankful for all that I have and hope that next year will bring more progress and achievements to those that I am privileged to work with in Sierra Leone.
