“I feel welcome back in Somalia. Getting career advice was the best thing that happened to me.”
Somali returnee Mohamed*, 27, has started a picture-framing business after completing a three-month training programme through the UNHCR-funded Returnee Support Centre in Kismayo, southern Somalia. ; Mohamed fled to Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya at the height of the 2011 drought with his wife, his brother’s widow and her four children. Born in Dalbille, a village near the town of Jamame, Mohamed returned to the nearby port city of Kismayo in southern Somalia in December 2016. Via UNHCR's Returnee Support Centre, Mohamed registered with UNWRA's Technical and Vocational Education and Training Programme and undertook a carpentry and joinery skills course operated by the American Refugee Committee (ARC). Now, Mohamed is an aspiring businessman, framing artwork, photographs and mirrors, and selling them locally. He also works part-time on construction sites as a bricklayer and technician.
*Name changed for protection purposes