IMPACT

According to feedback from our participants, training programmes and other events were very successful and left positive impacts on the participants. “I learnt that transforming heart positively is where peace building starts” (a young man from University of Hargeisa).

Another young woman participant from University of Hargeisa said “This training affected my life and touched my feelings and mind. It is the first time I felt I am participating and expressing my views in a group discussion. It was a great opportunity to meet with couple of Somali background who dedicated themselves in building peace in their own country. That affected me deeply and provided me positive role model…Additionally, it was indeed a good opportunity for me to know all these wonderful participant faces and names. You [participants] will remain in my heart from now on because we have become like one family”. Similarly, a young woman from Somali National University recounted “I have changed a lot. Now, I am not the person who I was four days ago. If someone could enter into my heart he will realize how much I have changed…I can’t express my feelings in words. I feel like I am receiving PhD today which is the highest degree”. “This was one of the best training I have attended in my life…It sharpened my mind and touched my heart” (a young man from Mogadishu University). “It was a training which I felt that my mind needed a lot. For instance I’ve learnt on how to make good relationships with others and how to constructively respond if someone treats me negatively and also how to compromise and share something with others” (a young woman from Mogadishu University).

Other impact aspects are reflected in participants’ formation of their own peace network maintaining regular contact with us mainly through social media. As well as having a local significance, the training impacted on the worldwide Somali community through community media including TV, radio, and social media. The Somali community worldwide has also developed sense of ownership of the initiative, and therefore, the community contributed to the cost of the training as some community members donated a land in Mogadishu to build a peace centre. For further understanding of the impact of our training programmes, please refer to our three main videos based on our training workshops at our partner universities in Somalia.

In diaspora, our Dariswanaag initiative has impacted positively on the Somali community in Golf Links, Southall, London. For instance, several parents and many young people who benefited from Dariswanaag programmes have enthusiastically offered their time to voluntarily contribute to IDDI activities. As a direct impact, Dariswanaag initiative has also entailed other important community activities and programmes such as graduation celebration, inspirational youth event, and ongoing homework club in which university students of Somali origin teach and help Somali children in Golf Links areas in their homework. These student teachers have also developed sense of contribution and giving back to their community, as they have become positive role models for the young ones who may have never seen any Somali teacher in their lives.