Life in Somalia's largest climate refugee camp, located in the south of the country, is tough.
In it, almost 360,000 displaced people live in 500 towns around the small city of Baidoa.
And the number continues to rise: every day, new IDPs arrive there in search of shelter, medication, food and water.
Yet for Shukri Muktar Mohamed and Mohamed Bare Maalin, 14, and Fadumo Ibrahim Noor, 17, this has been home for years.
They all came here during previous droughts, and have never returned to their hometowns.
To raise awareness of the consequences of climate change for children in Somalia, which is going through its worst drought in the last 40 years, they have decided to join together and become climate activists.
EL PAÍS spoke in Baidoa with the three teenagers about the past and present, their hopes and dreams.
They want their voices to be heard, because they say that children are the ones who suffer the most from changes in the climate.
“Change can come if we raise our voice and defend our rights.
That's why I want to share my stories about how climate change has affected me and other children like me.
I believe that through my activism things can change for the children of Somalia.”
Fadumo Ibrahim Noor, 17 years old
Fadumo Ibrahim Noor, 17, in the Baidoa refugee camp, Somalia. Joost Bastmeijer
“I remember perfectly the moment when we had to leave our house, they were very traumatic times.
Our land was barren, no crops grew.
My parents hoped that the rain would come and they would be able to harvest something, but as the days went by, they realized that they were not going to harvest anything for the whole year.
At the same time, our animals died one after another.
We still had food to eat thanks to previous harvests, but we no longer had water.
In the rest of the town it was a problem.
After several days without water, my parents made the decision to leave our house.
My mother took my hand and told me that that same day we would walk to the city of Baidoa.
I thought maybe we'd walk for a few hours.
We had to carry my little brothers on our backs, it was very tiring.
When I told my mother that I needed to rest, she told me that she would rest when we reached a tree beyond.
But when we got to the tree she told me that we could rest when we got to a house that was visible.
And so for three days, until we finally reached Baidoa.
“Changes in climate have ended childhood for many of us.
Many children cannot go to school and have to work as adults.
They move from one place to another in search of food and water, which uproots them from their social network”
Fadumo Ibrahim Noor, 17-year-old climate activist
The consequences of climate change for children should not be underestimated.
Here in Somalia, changes in the climate have ended childhood for many of us.
Many children cannot go to school, are forced to marry and have to work as adults.
They move from one place to another in search of food and water, which uproots them from their social network and they cannot make friends to play with.
They often have to abandon their toys, clothes and other belongings so that the family can carry food and water instead.
Somali children do not have a platform to share our point of view.
We can never voice our concerns, it's like our voice doesn't matter.
I believe that change can come if we raise our voice and defend our rights.
That's why I want to share my stories about how climate change has affected me and other children like me.
I believe that through my activism things can change for the children of Somalia.”
Mohamed Bare Maalin, 14 years old
Mohamed Bare Maalin, 14. Joost Bastmeijer
“My name is Mohamed Bare Maalin and I am 14 years old.
We arrived in Baidoa in 2017. I have been living here for five years now, and this has become my home.
Before, I didn't go to school because there weren't any in the small town where I lived, but thanks to the humanitarian organizations that work in the camp, now I can go to school and learn, so the situation is relatively good.
I first heard about climate change at school.
I have learned many things about our environment here in Somalia.
Our teacher has taught us that climate change is something that can be caused locally.
Trees are very important for their roots and their shade.
But before they began to die from lack of rain, people cut them down to build houses.
Others sold the wood to earn money.
But also emissions from industrial companies are causing climate change.
“The drought affects us all.
We had to leave our homes and come to this camp.
Even here, sometimes, it's too hot."
Mohamed Bare Maalin, 14 years old
Drought affects us all.
We had to leave our homes and come to this camp.
Even here, sometimes, it's too hot.
There are days when we can't be in class and we have to go outside.
When the wind comes, not even our houses made of cloth give us enough protection.
There is sand everywhere, it is hot and it can hurt your face and eyes.
Many children have to work so that their parents have some money.
They do odd jobs like collecting firewood or washing other people's clothes.
This is also a consequence of climate change, because people have lost their livelihoods.
For a change to take place in the community, the first thing we have to do is unite.
There is no order.
If the community, government and international NGOs work together, they may be able to set rules on climate change.
For example, they could make a rule that if someone cuts down a tree, he has to plant another.
And if everyone cares about the tree, things can change.
We have to start small, but I am sure that the others will listen to us because we are children”.
Shukri Muktar Muhammad, 14 years old
Shukri Muktar Mohamed, 14. Joost Bastmeijer
“My name is Shukri Muktar Mohamed and I am 14 years old.
I have six sisters and two brothers.
I was born in Kasadere.
We used to raise animals, because, like so many people in Somalia, my parents are herders.
Near our house we had some land on which we grew some plants, but when the rains stopped coming, it became more and more difficult for us to find pasture for our goats and cows.
The land dried up, and green fields became scarce.
Nothing grew on our land.
The animals died because they could not find anything to eat.
In my opinion, climate change is caused by human beings themselves.
In Somalia, many people have cut down trees to make things, sell it or use the wood for the fire.
They still kept cutting them down, but never replaced them with new ones.
So the land becomes an open field, and the wind brings a lot of sand.
Little by little it turns into a desert.
It's really hot.
“I think it is very unfair that we are suffering the consequences of climate change.
We are paying the price for something that we have not provoked.”
Shukri Muktar Muhammad, 14 years old
I wanted to understand what is happening in Somalia to know why our country suffers from this heat.
Then I discovered that the climate is changing, not only because trees are cut down, but also because of pollution from cars and factories.
I have also learned that in our country we don't even have as many dirty cars and factories as in the rest of the world.
This makes me sad.
I find it very unfair that we are suffering the consequences of climate change.
We are paying the price for something that we have not caused.
I want to be a climate activist because, as children, we are the first to suffer from the negative effects of climate change.
I believe I can bring about positive change to make things better.
Most of the kids I know don't get a chance to tell their stories.
I see what is happening around me: I know many girls who have to work because their family has no income, some of them have even been given in marriage to a man or a boy so that the family can receive a dowry.
They are only 14 years old, like me.
I would like to become a spokesperson and activist against climate change and share my first-hand knowledge on the subject.
I have joined a global conversation thanks to a Save the Children project.
Through her, I have spoken with many other children who also share their stories.
They are from different parts of the world, but they have the same needs and the same interest in what is happening on the planet.
I would like to focus on these difficult times and the effects they have on children.
Climate change affects us directly when we cannot go to school.
It is time for us to unite and fight it together.”
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