His Excellence the president, Mr. Siilaanyo has declared that the theme for the 26th anniversary of Somaliland independence day, on 18th May 2017 is to “stand together with drought affected families” through fundraising to revive the lost livelihood of the pastoral communities and tree planting events. Firstly, the fundraising activities are meant to mobilize resources from different part of the communities including civil servants, UN/INGOs local staff, trade companies, education institutions as well as diaspora individuals, and groups to mitigate the effects of drought and invest in community resilience building programs to prevent potential drought risks. Secondly, tree planting activities are to contribute to the reforestation and reduce land degradation, water runoff and floods as well as mitigating other climate change effects in the rural communities. In responding to the President’s call, key government ministers and Somaliland Development Fund officials led by the Ministry of Planning and National development travelled to Erigavo the capital city of Sanag region, to partake in the tree planting event in Daallo. Candlelight donated 1500 different indigenous tree species to the delegation to be planted in Daallo reserve area. The event was well organized and attended by a number of distinguished guests who included; the Minister of Planning and National Development, Minister of Higher Education, Minister of Water Resources, Mayor of Erigavo and other officials from the military and police commanders in the region.
