From Theatre of the Oppressed Somalia to Youth Initiatives for Relief and Development — our story, our mission, and the people we work with.
From community theatre to nationwide relief and development work.
A group of young people were trained by CISP in theatre-of-the-oppressed techniques, running community dialogue sessions on gender-based violence, child labour, and girls' education.
The trained youth formed an organization to facilitate community dialogue and awareness-raising for local communities, NGOs, government bodies, and schools — becoming known as TOPS.
In partnership with CISP, UNFPA, IRC, and NoFYL, TOPS ran awareness campaigns on child protection, GBV, sexual violence, FGM, women's empowerment, hygiene promotion, school enrollment, gender inequality, and human rights.
At the request of our partners, donors, and the communities we serve, our board broadened the organization's focus and renamed it Youth Initiatives for Relief and Development (YIRDO) — widening our mandate from awareness campaigns to full relief and development programming.
YIRDO delivers emergency relief, education, clean water and food security, health care, child and orphan protection, and sustainable socioeconomic programs, while still using Theatre of the Oppressed as a signature tool for community dialogue.
Youth Initiatives for