At 25, Maryan Mohamed Adan stands at the heart of a women’s group in Wajid, brewing tea for neighbors and quietly carrying a household through years when the seasons have not kept their promises. She is a tea cooker by trade—and a farmer by necessity—sharing a family plot that has yielded little in recent times.
““Before the AART project, my life was struggling; after the trainings provided by Shaqodoon and World Vision, I gained a lot of practical experience,” Maryan says. She remembers when harvests still came and a small sale could mean $20–$30 for essentials. Those days feel further away now. ”
The challenges have piled up: recurrent drought, sudden floods, fields burned by the sun, and livestock dying from disease—problems that, in her words, “still don’t have a lasting solution.” The family’s shared farm has produced nothing in recent years, and food shortages have struck more than once. “Sometimes,” she says quietly, “the children go to sleep on empty stomachs.”
When the AART project reached Wajid, Maryan did not expect miracles; she signed up for what she could control—capacity-building trainings, again and again. “I participated many times in capacity building trainings,” she explains, “learning about disaster preparedness and risk management.” Alongside the sessions, her group received quality seed and guidance on how best to use it when conditions allow.
Maryam Mohamed
“I participated many times in capacity building trainings,learning about disaster preparedness and risk management.”
“The AART project has supported us well,” Maryan says. For now, the land remains harsh—“this year the farm produced nothing due to drought”—but her approach is different: watch the forecasts, plan early, and act together with other women when the first good planting window opens.
Maryan’s progress is the quiet kind that rarely shows up in big numbers. It shows up in know-how—what to do before the next shock—and in confidence to advocate for her family and her group. It shows up in a pot of tea sold at the market when the fields fail, and in the discipline to keep attending trainings even when the day is long.
Her hope is simple and powerful: “I hope the future brings real change for me and my family,” she says. With the AART skills in hand and better seeds ready for the next chance to plant, Maryan is holding the line—turning learning into resilience, and resilience into the first steps of recovery for the women of Wajid.