A considerable part of the medical and social infrastructure that was destroyed in the armed conflicts between 1980 and 1994 still has to be rebuilt. SOS Children’s Villages decided to further commit itself in Somaliland and to help abandoned children and the needy population in the capital city Hargeisa. In June 2008 the construction of Somaliland’s first SOS Children’s Village, an SOS Kindergarten, an SOS Social Centre (Family Strengthening Programme) and an SOS Medical Centre was completed. Read more...

SOS Hermann Gmeiner Sheikh Secondary School

The school is situated in the town of Sheikh between the port city of Berbera and Burao, the second largest town of Somaliland. Sheikh is located in a mountainous area, which enjoys a pleasant, cool climate throughout the year.

It is also blessed with abundant rainfall. It is for this reason that the British colonial administration found the town a suitable learning environment and decided to build a modern boarding school in 1959. From then on, the school developed to become one of the best institutions in the region. Many of the prominent Somaliland politicians, key officials and academics, are graduates of this prestigious school. Unfortunately, the quality of education in the school deteriorated during the last decade of Siad Barre's military dictatorship, and later on, because of the outbreak of the civil war, the buildings were badly damaged, equipment was looted and the school was completely abandoned. Read more...

Berbera - The socio-economic situation

Berbera, a coastal town, was hit hard by the civil war in Somaliland between 1988 and 1991, in which nearly 60,000 people were killed and half a million became refugees. The infrastructure was virtually destroyed and many cities were completely razed to the ground.

Berbera is characterised by a comparatively high HIV/AIDS rate (2.6% in Berbera compared to 1.4% countrywide average), extreme poverty and a high unemployment rate. On average, eight to nine children live in one household, which is far above the national average of six children. This number is a result of a high birth rate (4.46 children) as well as the fact that a lot of families are taking in orphans. Read more...