VISION
HAVOYOCO’s vision is to alleviate poverty through sustainable development. It aims to operate effectively to help the people of the Horn of Africa so that their voices will be heard.

MISSION
HAVOYOCO respects the rights and dignity of the community at large by working with grass root through mobilization and participation. It addresses primarily the needs of the disadvantaged and vulnerable people: the youth, children and women by providing them social services, skills training, income generation and advocacy initiatives.

WHAT WE DO

HARGEISA SOAP FACTORY (BILAN SOAP)
HAVOYOCO focuses on income generating projects for vulnerable people: women, children, the elderly, refugees and returnees. This project uses local resources and turns them to finish products.

Project objectives
The long-term objective of the project is to increase the income level of the beneficiaries through soap making business opportunity.
This project helps beneficiaries with

• Appropriate functional recycling cash income source
• Upgrade their employment opportunity in soap business practices
• Increase their income level as well as their living status over one fold

Project Achievements

• Established locally functional laundry soap making factory
• Produced quality competitive laundry soaps
• Trained soap making staff
• Trained skilled staff for soap making technology

VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE
BACKGROUND
A large majority of the people of Hargeisa is made up of people returning from Ethiopia and refugee camps. Currently, returnees from Ethiopia are helping in reconstruction and development of their homeland. HAVOYOCO has developed this project since 1998 in order to help returnees. During that period 939 young men and women learned different skills, mainly those that involve reconstruction and income generation activities and graduated from the center. Further, in order to help these returnees, HAVOYOCO has been providing skill training to the youth whose education was interrupted by the civil war.

• To facilitate employment for returnee youth by putting them in vocational skills training and giving them the tools needed for employment.
• To facilitate the returnee youth in rehabilitation, re-integration and participation of reconstruction and development of their country.

YOUTH AND HIV/AIDS NETWORK INITIATIVES
It is abundantly clear that there is a need for a new way of mobilizing the youth and alerting them to the pandemic of HIV/AIDS. HAVOYOCO has collaborated with various governmental as well as non-governmental agencies and came up with the idea of Youth and HIV-AIDS week to be held in October every year. This year marks the fourth time this event has been held and the goal is to accelerate awareness of HIV-AIDS among the youth and to encourage them to learn form one another. HAVOYOCO has utilized grassroots youth organizations like the Circus in Hargeisa for this purpose.

Background
Poverty, unemployment, lack of informed social services, new resettlements, lack of orientation of returnee and internally displaced people with limited access to education and information contributed and further exacerbated the spread of HIV/AIDS. Since 1993 HAVOYOCO was involved in the fighting of this epidemic (HIV, AIDS). Since then, HAVOYOCO has provided the community with invaluable educational information about the disease. Pamphlets were published and Bulletin of HIV AIDS have been produced and distributed to hospitals, MCH, schools, and youth groups. Gradually now, people in Hargeisa have started to talk about HIV/AIDS in public. At present, a national committee is established and is now working towards national strategy to fight the endemic. The government recognises that HAVOYOCO can be used as an important tool in enhancing public awareness

Objectives

• Enhance the capacity of 36 young AIDS action group in Somaliland thought training, exchange visits and production of IEC materials through participatory approach.
• To equip 2800 young people with life skills training for behavioral change, to reduce STD, HIV/AIDS spread among the young people in 2004.
• To raise HIV/AIDS community awareness through massive media conference and circus performance.
• To strengthen the capacity of HAVOYOCO, the youth and the media partners to influence the national policy and decision making authority in Somaliland vis-à-vis HIV/AIDS.

COMMUNITY RADIO/TV AWARENESS PROJECT
Goals and Objectives
The long-term goal of the project is to contribute and strengthen the current community information sharing with an aim of promoting sustainable development and nation building.

• Community awareness and other social issues
• Educating people on democracy and voting process
• Document the social events and disseminate to the community through local TV and National Radio

Components
The project composes of two main components:
Awareness:
Selected programs focusing on community awareness will be designed and composed. The programs will focus mainly on the areas of health education, peace building, democracy and electoral process.

Documentation
The second component is documentation of social and developmental events/programs taking place in the country. This will be used to enhance awareness and advocacy development issues.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Project Background
This project intends to improve the human rights situation through information sharing and teaching issues on Human Rights and Democracy for young people in Somaliland. The aim is to improve the system of governance, increase democratic values and eventually reduce poverty, promote social justice and maintain political and economic equity for citizens.

Objectives

• To enhance the capacity of citizens in order to establish a system of good governance.
• To nurture and create institutional means for mobilization, articulation and pursuit of democratic values.

Purpose of the project
Community members and target institution have strengthened their capacity through the creation of institutional means for mobilization, articulation and pursuit of democratic values for citizens.

SKILLS TRAINING AND ALTERNATIVE BASIC EDUCATION PROJECT
Project background
The project provides care and support, such as skills and literacy training, family tracing and family reunification to children and youth at risk.

Objective
The aim of this project is to assist returnees from refugee camps and encourage them in contributing to reconstruction of their homeland with their skills both educational as well as professional.

Intermediate objective
Based on the convention on the rights of the child this project will empower target groups through the provision of relevant education and skills training. Targeted Somali children/youth will be encouraged to build their self-esteem and become empowered.

STREET CHILDREN REHABILITATION PROJECT
Project Background
Street Children Rehabilitation Center was established in 1994 in response to an increasing need for child protection in Hargeisa. The project provides food, shelter, literacy classes, counseling, family tracing and family reunification. Approximately 45-50 children are assisted through the center each year.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Project Background
HAVOYOCO has been providing skill training to the youth whose education was interrupted by civil war. The beneficiaries of this program showed a great deal of success in terms of getting employment. However women participation in these programs are still very low (30%). Therefore, HAVOYOCO is planning to increase the role of women participation in vocational training by starting an exclusive training for women.
Objectives
The long-term objective of this project is to improve the socio-economic conditions of low-income returnee families in Hargeisa.
Short Term Objectives

• To facilitate employment for young women by training them in vocational skills those are in need in the real market
• To provide literacy learning to targeted beneficiaries
• To enhance capacity building, orientation training and workshops in order to upgrade women’s role in decision making at a family and national level.

CIRCUS HARGEISA
(A community awareness project through circus art and drama)
This project started in 1997 in order to provide recreational activities and education opportunities to disadvantaged children including girls, rehabilitate street children by involving them in circus, facilitate minority children to share cultural rights and art with other children, perform shows throughout the country and generate income for future international tours for maintaining the project’s sustainability. This project is becoming the most popular tool for public awareness and for passing across messages on important social issues. Circus Hargeisa performs at least 60 shows per year and attracts as many as three hundred thousand spectators throughout the country.

Project Objectives:

• To provide recreational activities and education opportunities to disadvantaged children including girls
• To rehabilitate street children through their involvement in circus throughout Somaliland
• To let disadvantaged children hare cultural rights and art with other children
• To conduct national and international tours in order to generate income for ensuring project sustainability.

Project Mission
To raise awareness on variety social issues and to provoke and stimulate people to take action.

Achievements
After five years in operation, this project made great achievements such as:

• Conducted 600 official shows addressing different social issues.
• Girls were included into the Circus group and provided recreational and educational activities.
• Young children got equal opportunities to express their views and to participate fully in developmental activities.
• Numbers of circus Hargeisa members were trained on art skills, script writing, drama education, puppet making and radio drama.
• Member of circus Hargeisa attended international conference on radio drama in South Africa.
• Circus Hargeisa conducted fund raising activities.
• 15 street Children were rehabilitated and reintegrated to their families.

HAVOYOCO EXPANSION
Objective

• To conduct fund raising by mobilizing the local people and Somalilanders in the Diaspora.
• To mobilize local resources from local membership, government and the society at large
• To disseminate findings
• To make a documentary film on HAVOYOCO's activities.
• To produce additional promotional materials for publication

Achievements

• Provided training to the HAVOYOCO staff on conducting survey
• HAVOYOCO staff conducted survey and interview in different villages of Hargeisa, Borama and Buroa on youth issues.
• Increased HAVOYOCO’s publicity through disseminated
• calendars, brochures and business cards, T-shirts and organizational logo.
• Conducted secondary data collection from youth related institutions
• Conducted Strategic program interventions in order to address youth needs

Community Empowerment For Education (CEFE)
A Family Life Education Project for women/girls of Somaliland (FLEP)

The FLEP is a community project that seeks to empower women and girls in Somaliland through education and training. The FLEP project is a three-year project that will assist FLEP learners to income and employment opportunities. Learners are assisted with capital input or equipment packages to help them achieve their goals.

Long term Objective
The long-term objective of this project is to promote literacy and vocational skill training for women and girls.

Intermediate Objective
The intermediate objectives of the project include:

• Establishing primary facility (physical structure) in Hargeisa
• Focusing on FLEP curriculum in order to increase vocational
• and functional literacy courses
• Assisting the FLEP graduates to have access to income and employment opportunities by providing them capital initiative and material/equipment packages

Achievements

• Construction and/or Establishment of the FLEP (one class room, one training hall & twin toilets).
• Curriculum development workshop.
• Identification of beneficiaries.
• Selection of beneficiaries
• Formation and orientation of FLEC committee (parents, teacher, project staff)
• Started teaching and training activities
• Provided capacity building training for the FLEC staff.
• Established relationship with the ministry of education and other existing FLECs

WOMEN DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
HAVOYOCO’S women’s development department was established in 1992 with the objective of responding to the socio-economic and psychosocial needs of women in Somaliland. HAVOYOCO recognizes that women are one of the most vulnerable groups within the community and therefore require special attention.

Long term Objective
The long-term objective of this program is to empower women in Somaliland and make them self-reliant. HAVOYOCO recognizes that women are one of the most disadvantaged groups in the society at large and therefore require access to educational and professional skills for empowerment.

Short Term Objectives

• To empower young women through vocational skills that are in need in the real market
• To provide literacy and innumeracy skills
• To provide capacity building orientation trainings and workshops in order to upgrade twomen’s role in decision making within family and national level

Gender Perspective. Since the percentage of women at the executive positions was 30%, HAVOYOCO is addressing the issue of enhancing women’s inclusion at the executive level. This has become the focal agenda of the day. The strategy adopted to address this issue is, among others, to develop a gender sensitive approach throughout the program. As a result, this strategy is gaining momentum and having a tangible outcome.

Achievements

• More women have been included to the board of Directors.
• More women have been included at Havoyoco staff and management team.
• Havoyoco trained 500 young women and girls in different skills under the supervision of Havoyoco women’s department.
• Havoyoco women department gained increased role.

Mailing Address:
C/O: ICD Hargeisa
P.O. Box 1001 2 Djibouti, Action Aid
Tel: 252-2-527619, 252-225 3843, Mobile: 252 2 428854
Fax: 252-2250006, 252-213-4051
Email: havoyoco@hotmail.com

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