SAACID (say-eed - Somali, meaning 'to help') is a not-for-profit, non-political, Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), that focuses on practical measures to enhance the life-options of women, children and the poor. SAACID is registered in Australia and Somalia.

SAACID's key theatre of operations is exclusively confined to Somalia. In 2001, SAACID reorganised its operations so as to gain better donor recognition, and expand its capacity to provide better delivery into the Somali context. SAACID is now operated from Australia - and we hope that the organisation in Australia will be able to provide increasingly significant inputs to its sister organisation in Somalia as it develops. The Australian sister is set-up to provide technical and financial support to its sister, and provide oversight to all operational activities. Thus far, we are happy with our increased profile and we would like to continue to develop as a strong voice for women, children and the poor.

SAACID envisions all countries as contexts in which all people can reach their full human potential. Where there is equitable access to food, shelter, healthcare, education, property rights and law and order. A country committed to peace, democracy, human rights and justice for all.

SAACID has attempted to realise its mission and vision through constantly operating in contexts in Somalia over the past 17 years where other agencies simply cannot go. For instance, in 1992, an escalation in the civil war left millions of displaced people in peril; and made relief and development intervention all the more significant. SAACID was able to provide access to food, water, agricultural rehabilitation and health facilities.

Do you remember the images of hundreds of thousands of starving people on the brink of death at the end of 1992 in Somalia – and the millions more that were vulnerable? During that 1992-93-famine crisis, SAACID was running seventy-five feeding centres in partnership with the International Commission for the Red Cross. In the areas that SAACID worked the food got through and the people were saved from starvation.

SAACID was established in October 1990 under Somali presidential law as a community-based organisation. At that time there was no local NGO presence, but that didn’t stop some dedicated Somali women - committed to the development of their people - from establishing the first Somali women’s NGO.

These women realised the vital role played by NGOs in developing countries - and their ability to directly alleviate suffering and engender hope. They also saw a desperate need for intervention in Somalia and proposed not to sit back and watch. As indigenous people, they had a unique ability to access the grassroots; and have since been able to implement many very successful projects in concert with local communities - growing to become one of the largest local NGOs in Somalia.

Over the past decade SAACID has worked with many different international partners in many different fields of endeavour, to bring help and hope to those who have none.

The current primary focus of SAACID is in the areas of:

Peace promotion and conflict transformation - the key to allowing Somali women, children and the poor to develop their full human potential in a country that has not had any effective governance structures in place for more than 16 years is the modification of behaviour that relies on violence

Empowerment of women and women’s advocacy - traditionally Somali women have had little say in the development of themselves, their children, their families, their communities, or their country

Health - SAACID runs TB clinics, basic health care centres and health posts

Education - SAACID runs primary, secondary and vocation training schools for local communities. SAACID also runs the only women's teacher's institute in Mogadishu (2-year course)

Food security - the development and diversification of sustainable food sources for the poor is a vital first step in allowing them achieve a better life for themselves and their children

Emergency relief - since 1991 SAACID has provided ongoing emergency programming relief to local Somali communities

Economic recovery and development - an essential component to move from systemic anarchy and violence is the provision of genuine employment and training opportunities that will lead to employment that can sustain families. Also, infrastructure development for communities needs to occur to provide communities with the capacity to provide goods and services.

Governance – As an NGO, SAACID understands the necessity of developing effective and responsible governance structures in Somalia. To that end, SAACID has provided a lot of training and support to governance institutions at the district and regional level

Research – SAACID’s 17 years of practical field experience has provided SAACID with a wealth of knowledge and understanding that SAACID is able to translate into actionable data for itself and its partners

SAACID has translated these objectives into reality, through:

• Women’s empowerment through action and advocacy (e.g. fighting against Female Genital Mutilation [FGM] - which is an endemic practice in Somalia)
• The creation of a women’s micro-credit scheme (SAACID Poverty Bank)
• Literacy and skill training for women and youth
• The establishment and provision of quality primary, secondary and vocational schools – with advocacy for girl Somali children (traditionally education has not been seen as important for girls in Somalia)
• Training female teachers at SAACID's Teacher's Training Institute (STTI – NOVIB backed through 2009)
• The provision of emergency relief in times of drought, flood, tsunami and conflict (currently in partnership with the Dutch Government, OXFAM-Novib, Danish Refugee Council and WFP (2007)
• Extensive water and sanitation (WATSAN) programming on a large number of programmes over the past 17 years
• The digging and rehabilitation of wells
• The development of fertile farming districts through strategic intervention in rehabilitating canal systems and water catchments
• The training of farmers in more effective farming methods
• Loan schemes for the diversification of food resources for food security
• The development of women’s cooperatives at the village level
• The establishment and continuing provision of primary health centres – including TB clinics (Somalia has one of the highest rates of TB in the world)
• Partnerships with UNICEF and WHO in implementing TB eradication, anti-FGM and HIV/AIDS education campaigns
• Peace concerts and rallies; forums for discussion; and, conflict management and conflict transformation workshops – developing the skills of local leaders to more effectively mediate and solve disputes through methods of non-violence
• Conflict mediation; conflict resolution; and, conflict transformation between warring parties
• Hostage negotiations
• Working with international partners to help local businesses develop job opportunities for poor Somalis
• Demobilisation, training and reintegration of militia – in partnership with UNESCO and the Italian Government (2001)
• Demobilisation, disarmament (weapon's destruction) and reintegration of militia in partnership with UNDP (2003-4, 2005-7)
• Civil works in Mogadishu in partnership with UNOPS and ILO (2003, 2006-7)
• Tsunami recovery programming with MCC and UNICEF (2006)
• Urban planning, good governance, leadership, gender equity and gender inclusion training of community leaders in partnership with UN-HABITAT (2005) (EC funded)
• Leadership and management Training of Trainers (ToT) for all districts in Mogadishu, as well as facilitating leadership and management training for key community leaders in all districts of Mogadishu with UN-HABITAT (2006-8) (EC funded)
• Urban planning, good governance, leadership, gender equity and gender inclusion training of youth leaders in partnership with UNICEF (2006) (EC funded)
• Education workshops in democracy, rule-of-law, good governance, federalism and conflict resolution and conflict transformation for all districts of Mogadishu City (2006, 2008) (National Endowment for Democracy)
• Mapping all Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) settlements in Mogadishu City (more than 200 settlements) and survey 4,400 IDPs from across all settlements for OCHA, UNHCR, WFP (2007) (partnering the Danish Refugee Council)
• Cleaning and developing health outcomes in all 260 refugee camps in Mogadishu, in partnership with UN-OCHA and the Danish Refugee Council (2007-8)
• Emergency relief aid for 200,000 displaced in 2007-8 (partnering Oxfam-Novib, DRC and WFP)
• 10 food kitchens in Mogadishu in 2007-8 to help save the starving (partnering DRC, UN-OCHA, Oxfam-Novib, WFP, the Dutch Government, the Swedish Government)
• Emergency education for IDP children displaced by conflict in 2007-8 (partnering UNICEF)

Over the past decade SAACID has worked with many different international partners in many different fields of endeavour, to bring help and hope to those who have none.

SAACID believes in co-operation. Co-operation first and foremost with local communities; and second, with local and international stakeholders, NGOs and other organizations. SAACID is a member of a number of umbrella organizations including:

• Coalition for Grassroots Women’s Organizations (COGWO - Somalia)
• Peace & Human Rights Network (PHRN [INHA] - Somalia)
• Somali Aid Coordination Body (SACB – Nairobi, Kenya)
• Somali Education Promotion Group (SEPROG - Somalia)

SAACID has earned a reputation among their local and international partners for the highest quality work - for accountability, sustainability, responsibility and sensitivity. This organisation is highly respected, and as a result, is able to achieve success where no other organisation can. SAACID has extensive experience in key sectors; and has built up widespread networks and trust within local communities. These relations being a prerequisite for successful intervention, development and relief work in the current context of Somalia.