LocationsFrom Displacement to Dignity: Hamso’s Journey to Self-Reliance in Bossaso
July 15, 2026
Hamso Abukar Haji was born in 1981 in Mogadishu, where she grew up and married. In 1998, as fighting intensified and mortar strikes hit residential neighbourhoods, she fled the city with her husband and elderly father, eventually settling as an internally displaced person in Bossaso, Puntland.
She would spend the next two decades moving between IDP camps there. All eight of her children, five boys and three girls, were born in the camps; today the eldest is 25, the youngest 9.
For much of that time, the family lived in the "100 Bush" camp, on privately owned land where even displaced residents paid rent, starting at $0.30 a month, later rising to $5–$15. Latrines were private too, at roughly $0.15 a use, a cost that added up fast for a family her size.
A major turning point in Hamso’s life came in 2023 through the Samaynta 1 Project. As one of the internally displaced persons from the 100 Bush area, she was allocated a plot of land at the new Girible resettlement site. This marked a significant shift from years of precarious living conditions to a more secure and stable environment. The support package included a permanent shelter consisting of one room and a latrine, providing her family with a safer and more dignified place to live.
Building on this support, Hamso took further steps to improve her living conditions. She constructed a temporary hut, added an additional iron-sheet room, and installed a protective fence around her household. These improvements not only enhanced the safety and privacy of her family but also reflected her determination to create a better future.
In July 2025, Hamso benefited from another key component of the Samaynta 1 Project, funded by UNDP and implemented by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), in coordination with the Bossaso Municipality. This intervention focuses on strengthening economic resilience, expanding livelihood opportunities, and promoting women’s economic empowerment among IDPs and vulnerable members of the host community.
The project adopts a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach that includes entrepreneurship training, literacy and numeracy support, provision of start-up grants, and targeted mentorship. Through this initiative, Hamso was among 150 beneficiaries, predominantly women, organized into 10 Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs). Of these participants, 80% were internally displaced persons, while 20% were from vulnerable host communities.
The VSLAs were supported with a total fund of $50,000, and each participant received a start-up grant of $333.33. This support enabled beneficiaries to initiate or expand income-generating activities while also strengthening their financial resilience. Beyond financial support, the VSLA groups fostered social cohesion, encouraged collective saving, and promoted risk-sharing, contributing to stronger community bonds and improved financial inclusion.
The intervention also played a critical role in operationalizing the Grible Market, creating a platform for beneficiaries to engage in economic activities and access new livelihood opportunities.
With this support, Hamso successfully transitioned into a small-scale entrepreneur. She was allocated a trading space in the Grible Market, where she established a clothing business. She sources women’s clothing, focusing on quality and popular styles, from Mogadishu, using online platforms such as WhatsApp for communication and product selection. During peak periods, particularly around Eid, she also expands her business to include children’s clothing to meet increased demand.
To ensure product quality, Hamso coordinates closely with relatives and trusted contacts in Mogadishu who verify items before shipment. Once received in Bossaso, she sells these goods within her community, serving both IDP and host populations. Through this business, she earns an estimated monthly income of $80 to $100, significantly contributing to her household’s financial stability.
In addition to her clothing business, Hamso has diversified her income sources by establishing a small stall where she sells vegetables, sweets, and other basic household items. This secondary activity generates an additional income of approximately $30 to $50 per month.
Demonstrating strong financial discipline, Hamso has also embraced a culture of saving. She has invested in livestock, purchasing five goats, which she plans to breed and sell over time as an additional income stream. This forward-looking approach reflects her growing financial confidence and long-term planning.
Reflecting on her journey, Hamso expressed deep appreciation for the support she received:
“Thanks to God, the Puntland Government, the donors, and all implementing partners, our dream has become a reality. Today, I have a plot of land where my family can live safely, and I have income-generating activities that support our livelihood. I feel fully integrated into the host community and have the confidence to run my business anywhere in Bossaso. I urge that similar opportunities be extended to other displaced people who are still struggling, so they too can transform their lives and achieve their goals.”
Hamso's story is proof of what's possible when shelter, livelihoods, and financial inclusion come together. Somalia needs more of it. The country still hosts over 3 million internally displaced people, most of them waiting for the kind of coordinated support that changed her life.
About the Initiative:
The Saamaynta (impact) project is a joint programme implemented by UNDP, IOM and UN Habitat, funded by the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland through the Somalia Joint Fund (SJF). The program aims to support the Federal Government of Somalia in their goal to achieve durable solutions for displaced people within the country. This project recognises that displacement is a barrier to the improvement of living conditions of the people that experience its misery and prevents those groups to seize opportunities that, if made available to other poor social groups, would enable them to improve their situation over time. Therefore, addressing protracted displacement in Somalia is an imperative and urgent priority. The project addresses Somalia’s internal displacement challenges in an innovative manner, seeking durable solutions that are affordable and sustainable through addressing specific inter-related systemic blockages, challenges, and opportunities. Read more about the programme.
