(ERGO) – Shifting sand dunes have forced 150 families from their homes, destroying their livelihoods in Midnimo settlement north of Kismayo, in Lower Juba region.

These families include those repatriated back to Somalia from Kenyan refugee camps and others who have been internally displaced within the region.

Hamdi Muhumed Hilowle, a former refugee from Kenya, had to abandon her two-room house and latrine in January, when sand finally buried the whole building.

They are now staying with a relative in Siinay in Kismayo. Increasing worry of homelessness had pushed them to reconsider returning to the Kenyan refugee camps in Dadaab, where she had lived for five years.

She was one of many other refugees voluntarily repatriated in 2016 by the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR.

“We sought out relatives when we lost our homes, and they gave us this room, and told us they would take it back when needed. We share water and electricity with them,” Hamdi told Radio Ergo.

Hamdi, 35, lives in the single room with her three children and six siblings she cares for. They cook only one meal a day, relying on relatives and her mother, a livestock herder in Lower Juba, for support.

“I don’t work; I stay at home. My mother sends us $50 a month, $30 to stock up some food and $20 for other supplies,” she said.

Hamdi said that the sand encroachment started in early 2024, particularly intensifying during the dry and hot seasons, until it reached a point where they couldn’t access their house.

“Sand enters through the windows and doors, it climbs over the roof, and then the house collapses. We reached a point where we couldn’t find a way to enter the house. If we cleared it one day it just piled back up again the next day.”

Her home was her only asset. She is worried too about her mother’s goats that have dwindled from 120 to 10 left in the herd due to severe drought in the region.

Sand has also affected businesses in Midnimo, a settlement newly developed from 2017 onwards, also known as New Kismayo.

Abdi Haji Garnayl’s shop was buried under the shifting sand dunes. He rebuilt it three times, spending $150, but gave up in January 2024 due to financial constraints.

Abdi also returned from Ifo camp in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee complex in 2016, where he lived for 10 years, having fled Dhobley district due to conflict. Now he is facing displacement again.

He has had to take loans to feed his family of 12 children. The sand is encroaching on their house too.

“The sand displaced our customers, and the neighbourhood is now empty. We and the remaining residents are trapped, with nowhere to go. We cannot afford to rent another house or relocate,” he said.

He opened his shop in 2021 with $1,300 saved from driving work. Four of his children have stopped attending Rugta middle school because he could no longer support their monthly education fees of $32.

“The roof and walls are collapsing on us. We hear things falling while we sleep. Sometimes we cannot cook because of the sandstorms. We have reported our complaints to the authorities, but we have received no response.”

According to the locals, the only free service available in Midnimo is a maternal and child health centre.

The destruction of homes caused by shifting sand dunes has also affected other parts of Kismayo, notably the neighbourhood of Fanole in the south, where resettlement homes were also built.

Abdikadir Magange Dhomey, a tailor, said they are occupying a small part of their three-room home in Shanemo camp in Fanole, as sand has buried the rest, including their toilet.

He described their situation as dire, with severe water shortages. The nearest well is two kilometres away, but roads are blocked by sand dunes.

“The impact on us is immense. This sand needs to be managed with bulldozers. If we could afford it, we would have cleared it ourselves. The bulldozers charge $120 per hour for their services, which we cannot afford,” Abdikadir said.

This father of 10 children earns $4 a day from his tailoring job. He is worried about how he will manage due to their current homelessness, food shortage, and lack of money for school fees.

He settled in Kismayo in 2005 after fleeing Bandarjadid, Middle Juba, where the family’s farm had also been affected by drought and sand being swept in from the Indian Ocean coastline.

He received his home in Fanole in 2019 as part of a shelter scheme built by the UN’s refugee agency UNHCR, in collaboration with CARE and Norwegian Refugee Council.

Source: Ergo