Friend -

Mohammed Dek says a severe drought in 2016 and 2017 turned his life in Ethiopia upside down: it killed all his livestock. "The rain stopped," he says, "and the animals lacked feed and pasture."

The Somali Region of Ethiopia where Mohammed lives is a vast area, with unpredictable rainfall and an economy characterized by farmers who make their living by raising livestock. The region experiences frequent conflict and the government has failed to ensure that rural communities have adequate water, roads, and schools. The climate change crisis is making life in this challenging context much more difficult.

For a pastoralist family like Mohammed's, losing an entire herd of animals to drought is a cruel form of bankruptcy. But for his family, this was just the beginning of a challenge brought on by the climate crisis that would change their way of making a living.

After losing their livelihood, Mohammed's family moved from their village to the district center of Gunagado. They were just a few of the 1.9 million people around the world, Oxfam estimates, who were driven from their homes by drought in early 2017. In Gunagado, Oxfam set up latrines, brought in water, and hired people to help clean up the community. Mohammed and his wife worked and used the cash they earned to buy food.

Mohammed's thoughts were always on what he could do next to support his family - and hopefully lead to a better life. Now, he says he's not inclined to rebuild his herd and return to a pastoralist life because of the frequent droughts - he doesn't think he can make it work anymore.

The climate crisis means that droughts and other natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more severe. In the long-term, families like Mohammed's end up displaced, forced to leave their homes.

Read more about how climate change is impacting pastoralists in Ethiopia here. >>
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"We had a lot of experience with droughts," Mohammed says. "We might lose 50 percent of our herd, but we would always cope, and then it would rain. We would see rain in specific months, but now the rains don't appear and the temperature is just getting hotter."

Mohammed is participating in an Oxfam business training program and receiving grants to start a small restaurant near the market in Gunagado. "I want to sell hot drinks, tea, and food like rice, pasta, and bread," he says. He already has one location rented and intends to turn it into a more diversified business he can expand to multiple locations.

Because of Oxfam supporters like you, we are providing assistance for displaced people like Mohammed to help them diversify their ways of earning a living and create opportunity in a rapidly changing climate. After he gets his restaurant business established, Mohammed says he wants to build his family a decent home. His objective is to "give my children a good education, so they can learn to speak English, and enjoy a better standard of living."

We are so grateful for your dedication - you're helping us strengthen our work for families in Ethiopia and more than 90 countries around the world.

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