Our history

Voluntary Action Committee in Somalia (VACSOM) was established in July 2011, after the country hit by the worst drought for the past century, the drought costed the lives of 258,000 people, while hundreds of thousands more fled across the border into Kenya and Ethiopia, the founders realized that the country needs further mobilization of local resources and encouraging the volunteerism morality among the local community to empower the local community to retain the responsibility for their own development while we support, guide and advice on their efforts through our services before we appeal for international aid.

Initially the organization had started with a small scope focusing on health projects and emergency relief, however our scope is expanded to cover livelihood and agriculture, education, youth empowerment and peace and democracy to make sure that the community is able to handle their own development through volunteerism.

Unfortunately, the organization has passed through a difficult period in which the organization had to shutdown its activities for four years due to security issues and terrorist attacks against the principal leaders of the organization. However, VACSOM has restarted its operations from May 2020.