Over 500,000 lives lost through conflict in the past 30 years
250,000 people displaced by conflict and insecurity in 2024
Around 80% of those displaced are women and children
Why peacebuilding matters
After more than three decades of conflict and instability, Somalia remains one of the most fragile countries in the world.
- Clan-based clashes, competition over scarce resources like water and pasture, and weak infrastructure continue to fuel conflict.
- Without stability, reconstruction and development cannot take root — families remain vulnerable, displaced populations swell, and communities struggle to rebuild.
For Somalia to recover — economically, socially and spiritually — it needs more than emergency aid. It needs peace, reconciliation, and long-term support.
That’s where Zamzam steps in.
What Zamzam does: building peace, healing communities
Zamzam’s peacebuilding programme works to transform conflict into cooperation, facilitating reconciliation, supporting fair resource management, and enabling communities to rebuild together.
Main activities and approaches
- Mediation and conflict resolution: We bring together conflicting clans and local communities to resolve disputes — especially those over land, water, and other basic resources — through dialogue, community-led conflict resolution, and social reconciliation.
- Community-led projects and shared infrastructure: By supporting joint projects involving communities in conflict — like shared water systems, wells, irrigation channels, health facilities, or other community infrastructure — we help build common ground and reduce tensions.
- Awareness, education and peace committees: We train community leaders and volunteers to act as peace advocates, build awareness around rights (land, water, property), and support local peace committees that promote non-violent conflict resolution.
- Livelihood and resource-sharing projects: Many conflicts in Somalia stem from resource scarcity. Through livelihood support, shared resource management, and equitable development, we reduce competition and foster cooperation among communities.
- Stabilisation support in transition zones: As regions move from conflict or crisis toward stability, we provide support that reinforces peace: rebuilding infrastructure, enabling access to services (water, health, education), and strengthening social cohesion to help communities transition safely and securely.
Impact and why it works
- In 2024, Zamzam’s peacebuilding efforts reached 25,104 beneficiaries through new and ongoing activities.
- Through mediation, shared projects, and inclusive interventions, we address not just immediate conflict, but structural causes — poverty, resource scarcity, inequality — that can increase tensions and ignite violence. This holistic approach helps build lasting peace and sustainable development.
- By working directly with local authorities, community leaders, and across clans or groups, we help restore trust, strengthen governance, and ensure that support reaches everyone — not just a few.
25,104
Beneficiaries of new and ongoing peacebuilding activities in 2024
2,300
People reached by our awareness campaign around land and property rights
Your donation to our peacebuilding fund helps us train community leaders as peace activists and bring communities together to resolve their differences over scarce resources through dialogue.
Success story
Elmi Jidow Olow, 73 – a retired sugar factory worker – is passionate about working for peace in a country so often divided by conflict.
“I serve as a voluntary clan elder, dedicated to promoting peace,” he says. “I attend a daily meeting with the district elders in Jowhar district, where we discuss new developments and address current issues in maintaining peace.”
Since 2017 Elmi has been serving as a member of the peace committee we established to help build more harmonious community relations in Middle Shabelle. “I have acquired valuable negotiation and mediation skills that have enabled me to effectively manage conflicts and resolve disputes between clans,” he says.
