Intervension area

HIRDA  focus on the following intervention areas in the next 5 year period from 2011 to 2015:

1.Education 

HIRDA aims to give the school aged children their right to education and create better perspectives for their future. In Somalia and among Somali ethnic groups in neighboring countries, enrolment rates in primary education are still very low. HIRDA’s focus will be on promoting equal access for boys and girls and to favor a more child friendly learning environment. Improved access to and enhanced quality of education will result in better job opportunities for school graduates. 

2. Gender and identity related issues
HIRDA recognizes the important role that women play in development. They provide food for the family, raise the children, and are often the binding factor between families in the community. There is a lot to enhance in the overall situation of Somali women in Somalia and East African region as well as amongst Diaspora. Poverty, lack of access to education and primary healthcare, high-risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality during delivery, harmful traditional/ cultural and social practices such as FGM, gender-based violence, lack of access and control of economic resources, lack of participation in decision-making processes are the main issues that HIRDA will addressed in this context.

3.Humanitarian response
Somalia has suffered from 18 years of civil war and severe natural calamities such as drought and flooding. These disasters directly affected the degree of self-reliance of communities and the access to primary education. Therefore, HIRDA aims to provide relief services to minimize the impact of these calamities on their projects

4.Sustainable livelihoods
Interventions in this area will mostly focus on adaptation of rural livelihoods to climate change, to build resilience of communities against climate change and frequent disasters.

5.Diaspora engagement
The interest and engagement of Diaspora in the development of Somalia and other East African regions where Somalia ethnic groups are living, is important to give the development the required boost. However, engaging Somali Diaspora to take an active role in the development is a difficult and challenging task. A division and a destructive attitude between Somali communities living in Somalia and other parts of East Africa also exist among Diaspora living in Europe or the United States.

Remittances, which are the main economic source of the Somali community, are not shared equally. The rural communities do not have the same access to the funding sent by their families abroad. Most of the benefits of these overseas contributions stay within urban areas. HIRDA will use its network with financial institutions to contribute to a more equal distribution of remittances, also by facilitating Hawala (remittance transfer networks).
Another problem to tackle is that remittances induce dependence. This puts an enormous burden on the shoulders of the senders especially when we take into consideration that less and less senders will be carrying this load in the feature because the generations to come have less connections with their country of origin.