A Note on Education and Training

Dear Reader

during the last few days I was able to sit and talk to a number of women from different walks of life. I interviewed the poorest of the poor in the refugee camp in Hargeisa, women who have seen and experienced things we cannot even imagine. I also sat with leaders of NGOs, women who are well educated and some of them have even been living abroad for several years. Tomorrow I will interview the vice-minister of the Ministry of Social Affairs, she is one of only 4 ministers in Somaliland. All the women I have spoken to agree that the most important issue is to get Somaliland acknowledged by the world community. Second on the list is education beyond the secondary level and third is the health of women and children and. Only since two years is elementary education (up to 8th grade) free of charge for all girls and boys. Still there's a lot of girls who are not sent to school for various reasons. Education past the 8th grade is subject to a fee. This leaves the poor without enough education to be able to find meaningful and financially supporting jobs. And once more, the women are the ones with the least support and the hardest struggles.

Here at the Edna Adan University Hospital we have two fine female doctors, Dr. Shoukri and
Dr. Naima. Both intelligent and gifted professionals who tell me that there is a dire need for more female doctors and better trained and educated doctors in general. Women generally like to be treated by women - mind you, I feel the same way - and there are just not enough around. Also, the education and training possibilities for doctors here in Somaliland are limited. They need to be able to study and work abroad and bring that know-how back to their country. Both Shoukri and Naima are very dedicated to their country and are looking for possibilities to get scholarships to countries of the first world to train and learn. Here at the EAUH there are foreign doctors coming in every 6 weeks to train and teach the local doctors. Yesterday an Australian orthopedic surgeon arrived at the hospital with his wife woh is a trained midwife. They are both working for the organisation called Australian Doctors for Africa. They will stay here and work and teach during the next 4 weeks. Currently there is also an English doctor staying at the hospital for a whole year. She is, however, on vacation at this time and we will meet her just before we are leaving ourselves.

Dr. Andy Norman who has just left a few days ago, is a neo-gynaegologist who worked with the staff here. Here's a rare picture taken during an operation Dr. Shoukri and Dr. Norman performed together:

 



To illustrate how difficult it can be to get women from Somaliland to Switzerland for training, here's the story of two nurses/midwifes who have been invited by the Inselspital in Bern to train for 6 weeks on location in Bern.

First you must understand that because Somaliland is considered a region of Somalia, there are no embassies in Somaliland. Now, the Swiss Embassy responsible for the country of Somalia is in Nairobi, Kenya. The two women would have to travel to Nairobi to pick up their visas for Switzerland. Now, with a Somalilander passport they need a visa to go to Kenya. The Kenyan embassy is in Addis Ababa. They would have to travel to Addis in order to get the visa to Nairobi and then travel to Nairobi to get the Swiss visa. Then they can go to Switzerland. Got it?

Now, we all know that Edna for example, gets her visas in Addis Ababa. And we know about others from Somaliland who get their visas in Addis. After talking to the Swiss Embassy in Addis, we learned that they are making those exceptions but only for people they 'know' and who have traveled before. I guess they want to be sure that Somalilanders return to Somaliland and don't disappear in the countries they travel to. Well, now we have to put together all necessary documents plus a written Statement by Edna guaranteeing that the two will return, also we will activate all possible means and contacts we have to convince the Swiss Embassy in Addis that it is safe to grant the two women the visa there. And this has been going forth and back for more than a year now! You need good nerves and total perseverance.

If any of you know of a possibility to get one of the female doctors here sponsored to a Hospital in Switzerland for training, let me know. I could not think of a better way to support a county who's women are so determined to preserve peace, learn as much as they can and help their country become a better place. They deserve our support!

Regards,
Liana
:-)