Six years ago, Mohamed Yusuf was an 11-year-old living in the Hamar Ja-Jab District. He came from a low-income family with little income that consisted of nine members, with the youngest being merely eight years of age. Given the poor water and sewerage systems prevalent in the country, flooding usually occurs during heavy rains, destroying vital infrastructure, such as roads, due to the absence of proper drainage channels.
The house they lived in was a tiny house where they lived with another family. It was difficult during the rainy seasons as their old house couldn’t hold back rainwater. One day, it rained heavily, and so much water leaked into the house that they did not have a place to sleep and stand. As they tried to find another place to shelter from the rain, the youngest brother was swept away by flood waters as he tried to cross the road and unfortunately died.
This incident left an indelible trauma upon Mohamed Yusuf’s family, and the painful memories continue to linger to date. In anticipation of heavy rainfall, the family now resorts to evacuating from their home and seeking refuge on higher ground to evade the flood waters and prevent any further tragic losses of life during heavy rains and seasonal flooding.