SOMALIA, Great United Childrens School and Orphanage

And great to have a second school from Somalia involved.This time we have a lovely, colourful painting from Nabadou Waa Nolon who attends the  Great United Children`s School and Orphanage.

Nabadou says,  ” PEACE = Life “.

We thank Sowda Moalin for her work in reaching this school and inviting them to participate in the project and for the valuable work herself and others continue to do in this country.

In July 2009, Ahmed Dini, a civil society activist and member of Peace Line Group, a local NGO, said orphaned and vulnerable children had borne the brunt of Somalia’s 18-year civil war

Dini said the children just wanted a childhood. “When we talk to them, they want to go to school and play football. They basically want to be children.”

There is a new phenomenon of children taking care of other children “because both parents have died and there are no relatives to help”, Dini said.

He said the long civil war had eroded the social support network that sustained Somalis.

And below in 2013, is the Somalian government doing enough to help its own people today???

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/jan/16/somali-ngos-mogadishu-street-children

Somali Flag Meaning:
The blue base originates from the flag of the United Nations and it represents the blue sky over Somalia and the UN, who helped the country realize its dream of independence. The white star represents African freedom. The star’s individual points represent the five historical regions inhabited by the Somali people: Italian Somaliland (Somalia), British Somaliland (Somalia), French Somaliland (Djibouti), the Ogaden region of Ethiopia and north Kenya

Interesting Somali Flag Facts:
Mr. Mohammed Awale Liban designed the Somali flag and presented it to the government in less than 24 hours.