Failed rains, prolong drought pushes Somali communities to the brink

Mohamed Omar, 80, and his family walk past one of the many dead goats from their family herd. They are pastoralists from a village in Habasweyne (which means "huge dust"), on the outskirts of Hargeisa, Somaliland. "I am 80 years old. In the 80 years of my life, this is the first time that I have seen a drought this bad. It has killed so many animals and caused so much hunger. Our lives are in danger," Mohamed said. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"The men went to look for pasture with our remaining animals," said Hawa, 70. "We were left here to wait for aid, but we have only received very little. The situation is not good here - we have no food, no water, and on top of that, no shelter. It is cold and windy in the night, the children are suffering."

"The drought has been going on for three years, and it keeps on getting worse and worse," added Hawo Rayab, 35, holding her crying baby next to her chest, trying to breastfeed. "We were told that there was pasture on the other side of the border. But when we got here, we didn't find anything."