About the Foundation
Civil War in Somalia
For over 20 years a civil war is taking place in Somalia (Horn of Africa). During this war not only a high number of civilians died, it also destroyed the country and a whole generation is left without any possibilities for education, development and save living conditions. Children who are ill or disabled are suffering even more in these circumstances. Already before the war began, disabled people did not receive full providing. During the war this situation became even worse.
Disabled Persons
There are nearly no medical or social facilities for families with disabled children. On top of that disabled people are stigmatized, because in Somalia people believe that a disabled child is a punishment by god because the parents committed a sin. Due to this within the Somali society there is no solidarity with these families, they are just left for themselves. The thought that disabled children are especially vulnerable does not occur.
Aid on-site
I experienced these prejudices on my own. When my youngest child, my son Abschir Hassan was born disabled, I was confronted with such ill-formed beliefs as I have mentioned them above. Because of this I had the strong wish to help families which are in a similar situation and living in Somalia. But as people living in Puntland were deceived several times by promises and announcements of national and international organizations and because unfortunately also a lot of corruption exists, for me it is important to fly to Somalia with specific plans and with realistic and enforceable projects.
About me
My name is Muna Abdi and I was born in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, in 1970. I went to school there, apart from my first years when I was living with my grandparents. My grandparents were nomads living in central- Somalia, today’s Puntland.
When I was one and a half years old, my parents got divorced. So my mother brought me to her parents where I lived for some years. But when I was seven or eight years old, I had to go back to my father’s family in the capital.
In 1991 the Somali civil war reached the capital and I fled with my family to the neighbouring country Kenya. In September of the same year I came to Germany. I am living in Germany for 26 years now; I am a German citizen and I am the mother of four children, my youngest son is strongly disabled since birth.
