SOMALIA / FAMINE DISPLACED

UNICEF says hundreds of thousands of displaced Somali children may experience trauma from having fled their homes in search of safety, only to find themselves in overcrowded camps. The agency is providing protection services and safe locations for children to play, socialize and learn and express themselves. UNICEF

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:01
• Production Date: 9 November 2011
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND - UNICEF
• Subject Topical: HUMANITARIAN RELIEF; REFUGEES; DISPLACED PERSONS; DISASTER PREVENTION; DISASTER PREPAREDNESS; DISASTER RELIEF
• Geographic Subject: SOMALIA
• MAMS Id: U111109f

Description

STORY: SOMALIA / FAMINE DISPLACED
TRT: 2:01
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: SOMALI / NATS

DATELINE: 20 OCTOBER 2011, SOMALIA

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, IDP camp
2. Med shot, mother and child walking through camp with pots
3. Med shot, child walking with pot
4. Med shot, mother and child in shelter
5. Close-up, girl looking at camera
6. Wide shot, Cesvi partner walking through camp
7. Med shot, Cesvi partner walking through Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) tents
8. Wide shot, front of CFS tent
9. Wide shot, inside CFS tent with many children
10. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Said Omar Ahmed, Cesvi (Italian NGO):
“They have faced a lot of problems on the way while fleeing. So first we interview the children to see what problems they might have had, then we register them, and if it looks like they need it, we refer them to the hospital.”
11. Wide shot, pan left inside CFS tent
12. Close up, child in tent
13. Close up, UNICEF exercise book
14. Med shot, pan left children playing a game
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Brown Kanyangi, Identification, Tracing and Reunification (IDTR) Consultant:
“It’s like psycho-social support because children can come together, whenever they’re stressed, the act of being together with other children can relieve some of the stress.”
16. Med shot, training class
17. Close up, rapid registration and assessment form
18. Wide shot, training class pan left
19. Med shot, trainees
20. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Said Omar Ahmed, Cesvi:
“We learned a lot in this training, how to register children who are lost from their parents, and we also do outreach to find the parents to re-unite the family.”
21. Wide shot, children playing football outside of CFS tent
22. Med shot, children playing football outside of CFS tent
23. Wide shot, children in CFS tent playing a game
24. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Sadiq Abdi Aden, child participant in CFS:
“Before I cam here, it was really difficult, and I had a lot of problems.”
25. Med shot, Sadiq and girl jumping rope
26. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Sadiq Abdi Aden, child participant in CFS:
“But now I come here and I am very happy and I get to play football.”
27. Med shot, children in CFS tent preparing to play a game
28.Close-up, girl jumping rope
29.Close- up, girl’s feet jumping rope
30.Close-up, girl jumping rope

Storyline

For hundreds of thousands of displaced Somali children, daily life is a mixture of fear and insecurity. Communities are broken, and families are faced with the daily challenge of finding food and shelter.

Children can experience trauma from having fled their homes in search of safety, only to find themselves in overcrowded camps, away from all that is familiar.

Said Omar Ahmed works with UNICEF partner Cesvi at what is called a Child Friendly Space. The space is located in small white tents nestled between Mogadishu’s bullet ridden walls.

SOUNDBITE (Somali) Said Omar Ahmed, Cesvi:
“They have faced a lot of problems on the way while fleeing. So first we interview the children to see what problems they might have had, then we register them, and if it looks like they need it, we refer them to the hospital.”

In UNICEF’s Child Friendly Spaces, children receive essential literacy and numeracy, as well as protection services. Basic food support is provided through on-sight snacks as are desperately needed water and sanitation services. But more than that, these children get to play.

SOUNDBITE (English) Brown Kanyangi, Identification Tracing and Reunification (IDTR), consultant:
“It’s like psycho-social support because children can come together, whenever they’re stressed, the act of being together with other children can relieve some of the stress.”

On a recent UNICEF training in Mogadishu, partners also learned to work with separated and unaccompanied children. Through a consultative process, a culturally and contextually appropriate approach was developed for information collection, management and dissemination.

SOUNDBITE (Somali) Said Omar Ahmed, Cesvi:
“We learned a lot in this training, how to register children who are lost from their parents, and we also do outreach to find the parents to re-unite the family.”

To date, nearly 32,000 children are enjoying the resources and activities in over 350 Child Friendly Spaces in Somalia, activities that keep their young minds and bodies healthy.

SOUNDBITE (Somali) Sadiq Abdi Aden, child from Abtoy village:
“Before I cam here, I had a lot of problems. But now I come here and I am very happy and I get to play football.”

For these youngsters, this Child Friendly Space means they still get to be kids, even when surrounded by the ravages of crisis.