An update from the mother-to-mother Hanaano programme

I’d like to share an incredible story with you – one that truly embodies the solidarity and support of the Concern community. It’s a story of real and lasting change, built from the ground up, and it’s one I’m very honoured to be a part of.

Of course, we can’t ignore the shadow cast around the world over the past 12 months, a year scarred by devastation and hunger for millions. When aid cuts removed vital support, and countless families struggled to survive conflict and crisis. 

It’s in the face of such adversity that it’s important to remember that there are good news stories, and the generous support of the Irish public continues to bring hope and progress to some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

The Hanaano Programme in East Africa is one of those good news stories. When we began two years ago, I was an Irish mam living in Africa, raising four children under the age of six.

I’ve poured my heart into the project, helping it take shape and, from the very start, I realised that the hopes, fears and dreams I carried were the same as every mother I met.

As parents, we all need support from our friends and family. And that’s what guided us from the very early days of Hanaano, asking the simple question, “In my own world, what would help me?”

Hanaano translates to “nurture” in the local Somali language, and that’s exactly what this programme gives mothers the chance to do – to better protect their children from the devastating and long-term impacts of hunger.

At its heart, it’s about women coming together – to share their stories, to build friendships and to learn new skills. And to stand by each other as they raise their children. 

It might start with a handful of mammies gathered around for a chat, but it grows into something far bigger: a movement of strength and hope, nurtured by women for the future of their families. 

For me, it’s the most life-affirming evidence of the power of connection, and everything achieved in this programme is made possible thanks to your generosity.

The Hanaano Programme works directly with families living in one of the world’s harshest regions. The Mandera Triangle is a cross-border area of Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, where families face a relentless struggle with drought, violence and an often life-threatening lack of food and clean water. 

It’s an incredibly fragile place where, on average, 20% of children are malnourished. 

Over time, a child suffering from malnutrition can become vulnerable to deadly wasting when, without enough nutritious food, their body can become too thin for their height. It happens when a child loses weight rapidly, or fails to gain enough weight, and it leaves them far more susceptible to sickness and disease.

As a result, most mothers’ daily lives are totally consumed with trying to provide food and clean water for their children. 

I recently met a young mother who told me, “I used to wake in the morning and all I thought about was getting water for my children to survive. I couldn’t think about anything else, I just knew I had to walk.” 

I saw that she was living her whole life in survival mode, and that’s a really dark place to be in, where you have no room for anything else. However, the Hanaano programme is changing this for mothers like her.

When you’re a parent, you spend so much time thinking about how to help your children thrive - feeding them, wanting them to grow, watching them work out what they might need.

Even with all the resources in the world, there are no words to describe the fear you feel when your child is sick or small and vulnerable.

That’s why the bedrock of Hanaano is mother-to-mother groups. Bringing women together to share knowledge and resources, and to build long-term protection for their children against malnutrition.

Before anything else can be achieved, the focus must be on basic needs, like building a well in the village so there’s immediate access to clean water. 

Then the programme becomes about smaller, peer-to-peer support. Because once you’ve removed the need to walk all day to find water, other things can be addressed. 

Our mother-to-mother groups are led by local women, and the aim is to meet once a month to learn and share – issues like breastfeeding advice, good hygiene and how to make nutritious dishes and balanced meals with the limited local ingredients.

However, I often meet mothers who laugh and say, “We meet three, four times a week!” It’s amazing how everyone feels included and inspired. 

As I mentioned, these groups are at the heart of Hanaano, but the impact expands out in so many different and life-changing ways.

Many communities in the Mandera Triangle were traditionally pastoralists, moving regularly with their animals for grazing. The effects of climate change and conflict have disrupted these traditional ways of life, so a big part of Hanaano is supporting communities with the resources they need to make use of available land.

For example, we provide farming groups with a diverse range of seeds, irrigation skills and water pumps. Then they support each other, deciding which crops to grow and sharing communal land.

Keeping children safe from malnutrition is the ultimate objective of Hanaano, and the innovative projects like this that you’re helping fund around the world, are providing families with the new skills they need to adapt.  

I recently visited a woman who I’d first met a year ago, when one of her young children was malnourished. She’s part of a community that we worked with to build a village well, providing water for drinking and farming. 

When we met this time, she was cooking spinach, tomato and onion into a local porridge called ugali, all from her newly cultivated land – and her child was there, healthy and playing around her feet. 

She told me, “The well has given me six hours of my day back from walking to collect water.” 

I think this is such a powerful example of the full-circle nature of Hanaano. Providing mothers with the essentials to keep their children safe from the immediate danger of malnutrition then gives them the time to nurture – not just their children but themselves.

By sharing what you have, you’re helping make incredible work like the Hanaano Programme possible and changing lives. 

This year, when so many communities have faced crisis, the support of the people of Ireland has helped save and transform lives.

Thank you to everyone who has been such an important part of this incredible Concern community. I hope that reading this today has filled you with inspiration and pride – and determination as we look ahead to what we can achieve together in the coming year.