Success Stories. Archives - Vision Corps Initiative (VCI)

Finding Their Voice : How Life Skills Education is Transforming Learners in Wajir County.

Vision Corps Initiative — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:45:56 +0000

In Wajir County, learners are gaining more than academic knowledge—they are developing the confidence, values, and life skills needed to thrive both inside and outside the classroom.

Through the Life Skills and Values-Based Education (LSVE) Project implemented by Vision Corps Initiative (VCI) with support from UNICEF, learners across 25 schools are participating in activities designed to strengthen communication, leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.

One notable change observed during the second quarter of the project was the growing confidence and active participation of learners in school activities. Teachers reported that students who were previously hesitant to speak in class or engage with their peers are now taking part in discussions, debates, sports, drama, and peer-learning sessions with greater confidence.

During teacher reflection sessions, educators shared examples of learners demonstrating improved communication skills, collaborating more effectively with classmates, and resolving conflicts peacefully. Many students are also showing stronger leadership skills by volunteering to lead group activities and encouraging their peers to participate.

“The changes we are seeing go beyond the classroom. Learners are becoming more confident, respectful, and responsible in their interactions with others,” noted one teacher from a project-supported school.

These transformations are the result of a holistic approach that combines learner-centered activities, teacher mentorship, and values-based education. By creating safe and engaging learning environments, the project is helping learners build essential life skills that support their academic success, personal growth, and overall well-being.

During Quarter 2, more than 1,200 learners benefited directly from life skills and values-based education activities across project-supported schools. The project also strengthened the capacity of teachers, school leaders, and caregivers to support children’s holistic development.

As Vision Corps Initiative continues implementing the project, these positive changes demonstrate the power of life skills education in equipping young people with the confidence and resilience needed to become active contributors to their schools, families, and communities.

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Project Impact Highlights : Reaching Zero-Dose Children in Dadaab.

Vision Corps Initiative — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:12:40 +0000

The Zero Dose Project has made significant progress in improving immunization coverage among vulnerable children in the Dadaab refugee camps and surrounding cross-border communities.

Key Successes.

Over the past year, the project has:

Identified and reached the unreached:
Tracked 1,515 newly arrived families and identified 2,382 children under five, many of whom had never received any vaccines.
Reduced zero-dose prevalence:
Through coordinated interventions, the proportion of zero-dose children has significantly declined compared to the previous year, reflecting improved access to immunization services.
Strengthened community-based systems:
Engaged 100 Care Group Mothers and 15 community mobilizers, who conducted regular sensitization sessions and household outreach, reaching hundreds of families.
Expanded immunization coverage:
Supported major vaccination campaigns, contributing to:
- 68,759 children vaccinated against measles-rubella
- 123,249 children vaccinated with the typhoid conjugate vaccine
  in the Dadaab refugee complex.
Improved cross-border coordination:
Worked closely with partners including Ministry of Health, UNHCR, WHO, UNICEF, and others to enhance surveillance, data sharing, and response to disease outbreaks.
Strengthened health systems:
Conducted joint supervision visits and on-the-job training for healthcare workers, improving data quality, surveillance, and service delivery.

Success Story : From Zero-Dose to Fully Immunized.

When families arrive at the Dadaab refugee camps after long and difficult journeys, many children have never received a single vaccine.

Through the Zero Dose Project, community mobilizers and Care Group Mothers actively track and identify these children at entry points and within the camps. One such effort led to the identification of over 1,000 zero-dose children through community networks alone.

Mothers in remote and underserved areas, including across the Somalia border, were engaged through regular sensitization sessions. With increased awareness and support:

450 children were successfully referred to health facilities for vaccination
227 children completed their full immunization schedule, giving them protection against life-threatening diseases

This transformation is not just about numbers. It reflects growing trust in health services, improved awareness among caregivers, and stronger links between communities and health systems.

Despite challenges such as limited health facilities in some remote areas, community-led approaches continue to bridge the gap, ensuring that no child is left behind.

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Parents begin adopting positive parenting practices after life skills sessions in Habaswein.

Vision Corps Initiative — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 10:54:24 +0000

Community leaders in Wajir South once viewed life skills education as unnecessary and even discouraged conversations around child behavior and school participation. Many cultural norms made it difficult for teachers and parents to talk openly about the challenges children faced, and this contributed to poor attendance and low support for learning at home. Through VCI’s sensitization meetings and ongoing mentorship sessions, local religious and cultural leaders were trained on life skills and values education. They learned how to model positive behavior, support children’s learning, and encourage families to prioritize education. The change has been noticeable in multiple villages, with leaders now speaking positively during community forums, supporting parents to engage with schools, and encouraging children to stay in class. One leader said, “Before these sessions, I didn’t think life skills had a place in our culture, but now I tell parents to guide their children and keep them in school.”

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Building Dignity Through Service and Self-Reliance.

Vision Corps Initiative — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:02:47 +0000

When Fartun arrived in Dadaab refugee camp in late 2023, she carried more than just a few belongings from Somalia; she carried the heavy responsibility of raising eight children alone, including two under the age of five. Fleeing drought and insecurity, her journey to safety was long and uncertain. The crowded camp offered some relief but also brought new challenges. As a single mother, she faced sleepless nights worrying about food, clothing, and security for her children in an unfamiliar environment. “When I first arrived, I did not know how I would manage,” she recalls. “I worried every day about how to provide for my children.”
Like many new arrivals, Fartun’s family was vulnerable to gaps in healthcare, particularly immunization. In the camp, newly arrived children often miss out on routine vaccinations due to competing priorities like UNHCR registration, lack of awareness, and the overwhelming adjustments of settling in.
Her turning point came when she was recruited as a Care Group Mother (CGM) under the Core Group Partners Project (CGPP) in partnership with Vision Corps Initiative (VCI). After receiving formal training, Fartun began taking on a new role in her community—identifying newly arrived families with young children, referring them to nearby health facilities for immunization, and following up to ensure no child was left behind. She works in three blocks in section D, Ifo2 camp. Each block harbors approximately 50-100 families.
This new responsibility gave Fartun more than a task it gave her a sense of purpose. She moved from being a worried mother to a confident advocate for health. With compassion and consistency, she became a trusted bridge between vulnerable families and lifesaving health services. “Every child deserves protection from preventable diseases,” she often tells mothers.
But Fartun’s journey did not stop at serving others—she also began building a foundation of self-reliance for her own family. With the modest stipend she received as a CGM, she carefully saved and reinvested in her grocery shop. Step by step, the business grew into a reliable source of income. Now, she is able to put food on the table consistently, pay for school supplies, and ensure her children are cared for with dignity.
Fartun’s work went beyond referrals. She began using her small grocery shop—her only source of livelihood—as an informal hub for conversations about health. Mothers who came to buy essentials would often leave with more than groceries; they left with knowledge about the importance of immunization and the confidence to protect their children.
Her dedication and sincerity soon earned her respect across the camp. Today, she is recognized not just as a shopkeeper or mother, but as a health champion, someone mothers turn to when they have doubts or fears about vaccines. This new role improved her self-esteem and gave her a renewed sense of dignity.
One of her proudest achievements has been fencing her compound with “Mathenge” branches. In a camp where families live in close quarters, this small step created a sense of privacy and security for her children. “I believe I am now someone who can do something productive for myself,” she says with pride.
Her transformation demonstrates the ripple effect of empowerment. By giving mothers like Fartun opportunities to contribute, the project did more than improve immunization coverage—it created resilience. Children in her blocks are now more likely to be immunized on time, her family enjoys greater stability, and the community sees her as a role model.
Fartun’s story is a powerful reminder that mothers are trusted with responsibility and given even modest resources, they not only change their own lives but also uplift those around them. From arriving in Dadaab as a vulnerable mother uncertain about the future, Fartun has become both a community health advocate and a small business owner.
Her journey reflects the broader vision of the Core Group Partners Project and Vision Corps Initiative: that empowering women with skills, resources, and trust leads to healthier children, stronger families, and more resilient communities.

The post Building Dignity Through Service and Self-Reliance. appeared first on Vision Corps Initiative (VCI).

From Unaware to Empowered: How Nomadic Mothers Are Driving Vaccine Uptake in Dollow.

Vision Corps Initiative — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 16:44:51 +0000

In the nomadic camps and settlements of Gedo region, discussions among mothers usually revolve around rain, pasture, and water for their families and animals. For many, the concept of vaccines was completely unknown. That changed when Vision Corps Initiative (VCI), with support from EMPHNET, introduced care group mother sessions in Dollow district.
One of the participants, Abdia Mohamed, a 25-year-old mother of four, recalls her first session at the Sarmanley nomadic camp. “Throughout my life, I had never attended any gathering except weddings. This was the first time I heard about vaccines that prevent diseases like polio, TB, and measles,” she shared. Using flip books and simple pictorials, care group mothers explained how immunization, exclusive breastfeeding, and hygiene can protect families.
During the session, the outreach team used a simple but powerful example. “They asked us to collect sticks. Alone, a stick could easily be broken, but together in a bundle, they could not. This showed us how vaccines work when all children are vaccinated, they are stronger and protected during outbreaks. That lesson made me decide to vaccinate all my children,” Abdia said.
Care group mothers are selected based on their interpersonal communication skills and their experience as trusted community figures, often traditional birth attendants. This unique selection ensures they can connect with expectant mothers and newborns, creating a bridge between health services and nomadic families who are often marginalized and underserved.
The impact has been remarkable. During recent Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIAs), Abdia and her peers took an active role in mobilization, reaching 262 nomadic households and delivering key immunization messages to 849 mothers. Their grassroots efforts have significantly improved uptake in communities that once relied solely on traditional healers.
“I will devote my free time to mobilize my community for immunization activities,” Abdia affirmed. “Our children deserve the same chance to be healthy as any child in the world. As a neighborhood mother in the care group model, I want to be a hero by championing inclusive access to health services for all, including nomadic populations.”
Through the dedication of Vision Corps Initiative and the support of EMPHNET, the care group model is transforming attitudes, increasing immunization coverage, and proving that even in the most hard-to-reach areas, communities can take ownership of their health and safeguard the next generation.

The post From Unaware to Empowered: How Nomadic Mothers Are Driving Vaccine Uptake in Dollow. appeared first on Vision Corps Initiative (VCI).

From Zero Dose to Protection: How Nomadic Outreach is Changing Lives in Belet-Hawa.

Vision Corps Initiative — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 12:33:19 +0000

In Belet-Hawa, a cross-border district in the Gedo region of Somalia, routine immunization faces persistent challenges. Weak health systems, low coverage, limited facilities, and frequent funding gaps have left many children unprotected from preventable diseases. Amid these obstacles, Vision Corps Initiative (VCI) launched a nomadic outreach project that has become a lifeline for hard-to-reach villages.
“I am 46 years old with six children, and I had never heard of vaccines,” said Sacdiya, one of the mothers reached by the outreach team. “Many mothers and children lost their lives because of sickness, lack of vaccines, and poor nutrition. We only relied on traditional healers or holy means to cure the sick.”
For Sacdiya, hope arrived when a grey vehicle rolled into her village, Candadax. “The team came with vaccines and lifesaving drugs. They told us these were essential, but for us, it felt like a complete service we had never dreamed of.”
Before this, no child in the village had been vaccinated. Mothers had no access to antenatal or postnatal care. Sick children were left unattended, and nutrition screening was unheard of. The VCI outreach team changed that narrative, providing a full package of essential health services.
Community Health Volunteers (CHVs), nomadic elders, and care group mothers played a critical role in building trust and promoting acceptance of vaccines. “I used to believe vaccines were a poison meant to lower our population,” admitted Mohamud, a respected elder. “But a lady with unique communication skills explained their importance. I agreed to vaccinate my children. Later, when a measles outbreak came, my neighbor who refused vaccination lost a child. That confirmed the power of vaccines.”
By involving nomadic elders in population tracking and zero-dose tracing, the project adapted to the unique mobility of the community. This approach ensured that community needs and perspectives were respected while strengthening health delivery.
The nomadic outreach project demonstrates Vision Corps Initiative’s commitment to saving lives, reducing zero-dose children, and empowering communities to embrace health solutions. It stands as a model of how inclusive, community-led approaches can transform health outcomes in Somalia’s most remote areas.

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