“Thank God my life is different now”
Today we visit Somalia, a nation crippled by conflict, climate change and food crisis, where mothers like Atiko are learning ways to help their families thrive.
Written by Deborah Wolfe
on November 18, 2025
“I’m taking care of my children’s future”
In a camp for displaced people in Somalia, a woman dips fabric into a steaming bucket of blue dye. Her name is Atiko and with each swirl of cloth, she’s colouring a future she once thought was lost.
“Thank God my life is different now, compared to when I reached here,” says the 36-year-old mother of four. The family fled their home almost 100 kilometres away, to reach this camp for Somalis displaced within their country.
“We left our home because our livestock died,” says Atiko. “There was no harvest for several years.”
Atiko's daughter six-year-old Safiya, has known nothing but drought in her life. Now, she enjoys braiding near the entrance to her family's shelter.
It’s hard to imagine the pain behind Atiko’s short sentences. The days spent squinting up at the sky, searching the horizon for rain clouds. The devastation when long-awaited rainfall floods out newly planted fields.
The heartache when there’s nothing to feed your animals, or your children.
Atiko hangs up newly tie-dyed cloth to dry, outside of her family’s shelter in Baidoa, Somalia.
Atiko’s personal losses
Even here in Canada, climate change affects the realities of people who farm for their livelihoods. But we have government programs to help. Many of us don’t live off the land. And our provinces and territories aren’t riddled by armed conflict.
It’s so different in Somalia today, where millions of Somalis, like Atiko and her children, have nothing left but each other.
Atiko’s daughter, six-year-old Safiya, shows up a t-shirt her mother tie-dyed in deep, royal purple. She’s constantly surrounded by inspiring fabric in and around her home.
People living through humanitarian crises experience deep personal losses. With drought comes heartbreak and despair. Malnourished moms lacking access to healthcare are more likely to lose pregnancies. Atiko lost four.
There’s also understandable strife within families. Facing withered harvests, dying animals and prolonged hunger, Atiko and her husband fought. He eventually left the family.
Atiko was suddenly a single parent with four children. Seeking help from strangers went against her nature, but few choices remained if her family remained at home. So, they headed for an IDP camp.
Atiko learned her tie-dye skills over six months of training, at World Vision’s Technical Vocational and Education Centre in Baidoa, Somalia.
Atiko’s new future
In the Baidoa camp for internally displaced people, the mother who’d run dry of choices embraced hope and possibility once again. World Vision was there, offering a series of livelihood training opportunities.
Canadians may recall What Colour is Your Parachute, a book encouraging jobseekers to “dig deep” before choosing their paths for the future.
Safiya, six, is one of the four children with whom Atiko fled to this camp for people displaced within Somalia.
Atiko didn’t have all opportunities we enjoy here in Canada, but could choose among tailoring, construction, beauty and makeup, electrical work or tie-dying, to name a few.
“With our training, you can start your own business or work for someone else,” explains Andrew Mugoybo of World Vision Somalia. This will become more important than ever, in a country where agriculture is perpetually threatened by climate shocks.
“I will be successful in life”
Akito chose tie-dyeing and spent six months mastering the art. Not only does she create beautiful and unusual fabrics. World Vision has prepared her to market her designs and sell her handiwork.
Her fabric moves steadily to merchants and tailors in the area. With her proceeds, Atiko can feed and nourish her children. She’s earned the funds to improve her shelter, purchase beds and install a latrine.
“I am also taking care of my children’s future, paying school fees and providing other things they need,” she says.
"I dreamt last night that I will be successful in life. Thank God.”