“My older children had to drop out of school because there was no secondary school in our village,” said Mariam Housein, 64. “They had to walk 22 kilometers to the nearest school—and in a country where the temperature often exceeds 40°C, that’s just impossible.”
Mariam lives in Ali-Addeh, a village of about 4,000 people in Djibouti’s Ali Sabieh region, roughly 70 kilometers south of Djibouti city. It also hosted one of the country’s largest refugee camps. In the 2010s, communities like Ali-Addeh faced mounting challenges. Access to clean water, healthcare, and electricity was limited. Droughts devastated pastoralist livelihoods, and growing competition over scarce resources worsened food insecurity.
The Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP), funded by the World Bank, was implemented from 2017 until its closure on June 30, 2024. It aimed to strengthen resilience and improve conditions for both displaced populations and host communities across Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya. In Djibouti, the project focused on underserved areas like Obock and Ali Sabieh. DRDIP was built around five main areas: improving social and economic infrastructure, promoting sustainable environmental practices, supporting livelihoods, strengthening monitoring and evaluation, and enhancing regional coordination and capacity.
In Ali Addeh, DRDIP expanded the village’s solar power plant from 62.1KW to 340KW, bringing electricity to 354 households. The project also extended the drinking water network, built sanitation facilities, and opened a new secondary school.
Across the refugee-hosting areas — Obock, Ali Addeh, and Holl Holl — the initiative was carried out in partnership with the Djiboutian Social Development Agency (ADDS). Altogether, more than 110,000 people saw improvements in basic services. About 54,000 people gained access to renewable energy. The sub-projects created about 51,800 short-term workdays, and roughly 5,600 people reported higher incomes thanks to support like small business grants, agricultural kits, and training.
“Now, my youngest children have graduated from school. Some are even civil servants in Djibouti city,” said Mariam, her face lighting up with pride. “Before, we were desperate. But now, the future is promising.”
Mariam also joined a women’s affinity group—a local savings-and-loan collective known as a Groupement d’Entraide par Affinités (GEA). Members contributed 200 Djibouti Francs (DJF) each week to a communal fund, which allowed participants to take out interest-free loans to start or grow small businesses.
With the help of this group, Mariam gradually grew her income. She began by selling clothing and eventually opened a handicraft shop. “I started the business when my husband fell ill. Now, my shop generates over 100,000 DJF (about USD 563) a day,” she said.
A few kilometers away, in the village of Holl Holl, 64-year-old Fatoumata Assoweh Warsame was also building a new life. “I started farming in 2005 after my husband passed away. I needed to provide for my three children,” she explained.
At first, the cost of diesel to power irrigation pumps left her with little to save. But through DRDIP, she received a solar-powered pump, which lowered her costs and increased production. She began cultivating guavas, onions, watermelons, tomatoes, and peppers.
“Diesel was eating into my income. The solar pump changed everything,” she said. “And being part of a women’s agricultural group helped me open a shop to sell produce and other goods.”
Back in Ali Addeh, Mariam’s journey didn’t stop with one shop. With her growing success, she opened a second then a third one, managed by her daughter. Her ambitions soon extended beyond the village. She now sells her products in Djibouti city during national events such as Independence Day and is actively looking for a permanent retail space in the capital. “Our region has a beautiful cultural heritage,” she said with a smile. “I want to share it with the rest of the country—and maybe one day with the world.”
