My name is Jawahir Farah and I am the founder and director of Somali Simma for Education, Culture and Skills, or SOMSIMMA, a  non-profit charity based in London (the word simma in Somali translates to equality). In 2014, SOMSIMMA was created in response to the dire lack of educational support for disabled children and young adults in remote areas of Somalia. In 2015, the charity opened two schools for the Deaf/Blind that are committed to a comprehensive therapeutic programme for these students that face severe emotional, behavioural or developmental challenges.

On 16th February 2020, I, the director, came back from these remote areas where the schools were opened. Great strides were made such as starting the first vocational training in garment production and domestic science. However, this coincided with the most challenging time for all of us in braving the challenges of COVID-19.

As the founder of SOMSIMMA, I would like to express my concern in fundraising. Our charity is young, short of budget and struggles to afford fundraising expert fees. As a result, we would like to ask about how to find volunteers to help and support us in this critical moment. Indeed, our charity is poor and so are our beneficiaries; but our future is bright and promising.