DRC has been working with Somalis and other displaced populations in Somalia since 1998. In 2008, DRC opened a new office in Yemen, to receive Somalis and other asylum seekers and migrants arriving on the Yemeni shores from Somalia and Djibouti.
DRC’s mandate is to assist refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs) and conflict-affected communities who fled their home areas due to civil anarchy and natural catastrophe as well as conflict-affected communities. The organization aims at preparing them for their eventual return or their integration in a new community by helping them gain useful skills and providing resources to facilitate integration or return.
DRC has presence in Somalia, Kenya and Yemen where it is engaged in programmes and activities aimed at protecting refugees, IDPs and conflict-affected communities and to promoting long term solutions to the problems of forced displacement.
In Somalia, DRC is involved in delivering life-saving assistance to the population affected by the violence or forcefully displaced, supports livelihood activities and the reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure in South Central Somalia, Puntland and Somaliland. South-Central Somalia has the highest numbers of IDPs which currently stands at 1,100,000 as compared to Puntland and Somaliland which host 100,000 and 80,000 respectively.
DRC is also involved in assisting Somalis who fled their country and found asylum in Kenya and Yemen, along with other nationals. In Dadaad refugee camps, located in Northeastern Kenya, the organization is providing a livelihood-focused programme in and around the refugee camps. It is also partnering with the Refugee Consortium of Kenya to provide legal assistance to IDPs and refugees in the country. As of April 2009, some 271,000 refugees have been registered in Dadaab, mostly Somalis.
The establishment of DRC presence in Yemen in early 2008 was to respond to the most immediate needs of people arriving from Somalia and to help them becoming self reliant through offering vocational training and small grants for starting up businesses. The country currently hosts more than 152,000 refugees.
