Families still fleeing to Mogadishu seeking food

Here is the latest update from one of our emergency staff members in Mogadishu:

Our staff in Mogadishu registered 25 newly arrived households from famine-affected regions of Bay and Bakol in the last ten days. These families had walked for more than three weeks to reach Mogadishu, with the hope that they will get something to eat and live on.

Registering new arrivals in Mogadishu. Photo: Mercy Corps

Eight days after they arrived, they had not received any food or other support. Mercy Corps gave these families cash grants of $50. They were among 500 families who received the grants.

In the same camp, as well as others in Mogadishu, Mercy Corps is also providing clean water. More than 6,000 households — approximately 36,000 people — rely entirely on water trucked by Mercy Corps.

Nearly 100 of the 230 known camps in Mogadishu don't have enough water for residents. This forces women and girls to go far distances to get the precious commodity, increasing their vulnerability to rape and molestation (in a city where boys as young as 15 carry machine guns bigger than their bodies!).

Cases of rape continue reported in these camps almost on daily basis. This is why provision of water is not only a response to the need for basic provisions, but protection as well.