MOGADISHU

The ongoing civil war and humanitarian crises in Somalia have deeply affected the lives of its people yet thanks to the training programs conducted in partnership with the Turkish Red Crescent, Somali youth are finding new job opportunities.

The Somalia Red Crescent is working in cooperation with both local and international organizations on projects to address the most basic needs of communities affected by conflict, disaster and displacement.

Training in the fields of first aid and healthcare has especially become vitally important for these communities.

The Turkish Red Crescent is one of the key partners in this initiative to support Somali youth and institutions.

Executive Director of Somali Red Crescent Muhammad Abdi Warsame, told Anadolu that in addition to the Turkish Red Crescent, they are working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Red Cross organizations from countries such as Canada, Denmark, Norway, Germany, and Finland.

"We are training people. We selected a region close to our coordination office because this area has been most affected by explosions, conflicts, and attacks in the country. We are training representatives from institutions, universities, companies, and hotels," Warsame said.

Warsame pointed out that the project, first launched last year and repeated this year, has already benefited hundreds of participants.

"Over the last 34 years, there have been various phases of conflict—local, political, ideological conflicts, explosions, wars. It has affected almost every region. While some areas remain peaceful, drought impacts the entire country. After the drought, floods also came, affecting many areas. Most of the country’s infrastructure was destroyed during the civil war. So, Somalia is not only a country affected by war but also a country in emergency. This is why the Somali Red Crescent operates in almost every village," he said.

"We are training young people to become part of society and stand on their own feet. Because many young people leave the country, get involved in conflicts, or pursue other paths. We thought we should support these people, so we established the training institute. The Turkish Red Crescent was one of the institutions that supported the start of this initiative," he added.

Warsame shared that they provide various training programs at this center, including disaster management, humanitarian engineering, humanitarian logistics, basic life support, healthcare and first aid.

Regarding the first aid training program conducted in collaboration with the Turkish Red Crescent, Warsame stated: "First aid is one of the most important forms of support we can provide to the community due to the conflicts. We have ambulances, hospital care teams, and they go around the community to intervene in emergencies."

"First aid is one of our biggest and most important areas. It’s very valuable that the Turkish people are involved in this effort, training youth, and providing first aid kits for the community. Because when an incident occurs, the kits can be used immediately. This is especially crucial in crowded places like hotels, schools, and universities," he added.

Warsame also underscored that they aim to start vocational training based on manual skills, so young people can gain skills and create jobs for themselves in the market.

“The Turkish Red Crescent delegation became our first official partner. We specifically thank them. We also thank the Turkish state and people for all the support they have given to the Somali Red Crescent and the Somali people. We are in a complex emergency situation, so we are thankful to everyone who has supported us in some way," he added.

First aid course trainer Ferhiye Abdullahi Hasan, who also participated in the first aid course, said that she is improving her Turkish, which she learned by watching Turkish TV series at the Yunus Emre Institute.

Hasan stated that 25 people participated in the first aid training, and that a total of 945 individuals has received first aid training in the courses they have organized so far.

She noted that participants came from a range of age groups and fields, and that feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.