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Our programmes. One generation in the lead.
Learning, work, peace, digital rights, protection, health, justice and climate. Each programme is designed with young people, grows from work already under way in the Somali Region and is built to be handed over to them.
Ilays Learning
A second chance at learning, and a recognized certificate, for every young person out of school.
Read moreGanacsi Youth Fund
Skills, capital and markets for young entrepreneurs, on terms that fit their faith and their communities.
Read moreNabad Generation
Young people at the table where peace is kept, working alongside the elders who keep it.
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Hiigsi Leaders
Young women and men at the table where local decisions are made.
Read moreFursadaha Digital
Digital skills, safe online spaces and a youth voice in the media.
Read moreSafe Communities
Communities that prevent violence against women and girls, and survivors who know where to turn.
Read moreCaafimaad Youth
Health information and care that young people trust and can reach.
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Civil Society and Protection
Local organizations, especially those led by youth and women, strong enough to protect the people they serve.
Read moreGreen Horn Initiative
Rangelands, water and livelihoods that withstand drought, and young responders ready when it comes.
Read moreOur programmes, side by side.
Each programme starts from work CAYO has already done, and is part of our strategy, Youth in the Lead 2026–2030.
| Programme | Area | Where it starts |
|---|---|---|
| Ilays Learning | Education and Capacity Development | Back2School with CAYO, with Ethio Telecom and Ugaaso Women Space Org |
| Ganacsi Youth Fund | Economic Empowerment and Livelihoods | The Fursadaha Dhalinyarada network, 13,000+ young people sharing opportunities |
| Nabad Generation | Peacebuilding and Governance | The Peace Ambassadors Fellowship, with U-Report Ethiopia, and SR-PAN |
| Hiigsi Leaders | Peacebuilding and Governance | The Peace Ambassadors Fellowship, SR-PAN and the CAYO Award |
| Fursadaha Digital | Digital Innovation, Rights and Media Space | The Fursadaha Dhalinyarada online community on Telegram |
| Safe Communities | GBV/SGBV Prevention and Response | Community-led prevention with the International Solidarity Foundation, completed October 2026 |
| Caafimaad Youth | Health and Wellbeing | Programme design under way with partners |
| Civil Society and Protection | Social Justice and Human Rights | Empowering Civil Society Groups, with AFD and CSRC; Collaboration Over Competition |
| Green Horn Initiative | Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability | Programme design under way with partners; CAYO Volunteers for CAYO Rapid |
Designed for Ethiopian realities.
Mobile pastoralist households, long distances, recurrent drought and flood, displacement, and strong clan and religious institutions.
Our programme names come from Somali words, to keep our roots visible as we grow. Every programme carries five commitments: gender equality, disability inclusion, conflict sensitivity, a climate lens and digital-first delivery.
The programmes connect. A young woman in a pastoralist town should be able to join an Ilays literacy class, take a Hiigsi fellowship, start a business through Ganacsi and later sit on her woreda youth council. With her consent, one participant record will follow that journey, so that we report lasting change, not headcounts.
Young women and men with their certificates at the Peace Ambassadors Fellowship ceremony, with U-Report Ethiopia.
Flagship initiatives. Platforms of our own.
Projects have a start and an end. Our flagship initiatives are CAYO’s own, and they keep going between grants.
Two winners with their CAYO Awards 2025 plaques.
- 13,000+
Fursadaha Dhalinyarada
A youth opportunities network that shares opportunities, provides mentorship and builds connections among young people across the Somali Region.
- 400+
CAYO Volunteers
Active volunteers in Jigjiga, mobilized under the campaign “Let’s Normalize Volunteerism”.
CAYO Award
Recognizes young people in Somali Regional State for leadership, commitment and social impact, every year since 2023.
Peace Ambassadors Fellowship
Builds leadership, dialogue, conflict prevention and social cohesion skills in young people.
Collaboration Over Competition
Partnership, collective action and shared resources among local CSOs, especially those led by youth and women.
Somali Region Peacebuilding Actors Network
SR-PAN brings peacebuilding actors together for coordination, knowledge exchange and joint advocacy.
Projects, delivered with our partners.
Our projects with national and international partners, 2025/26. Each names its partners, who implements it and where it stands.
| Project | Partners | Implementer | Programme | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empowering Civil Society Groups for Social Justice and Resilience, Phase II | Agence Française de Développement (AFD); Civil Society Resource Center (CSRC) | CSRC and CAYO | Civil Society and Protection | Ongoing Through January 2027 |
| Community-Led Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls and Harmful Traditional Practices | International Solidarity Foundation (ISF) | CAYO | Safe Communities | Completed |
| Empowering Civil Society Groups for Social Justice and Resilience, Phase I | AFD; CSRC | CSRC and CAYO | Civil Society and Protection | Completed |
| Back2School with CAYO | Ethio Telecom; Ugaaso Women Space Org | CAYO | Ilays Learning | Completed |
| Peace Ambassadors Fellowship Program | U-Report Ethiopia | CAYO | Nabad Generation and Hiigsi Leaders | Completed |
Our commitments run through every programme.
Every programme, and every partnership with CAYO, carries them.
Gender equality
Women and girls lead, decide and benefit, in equal measure. Every result is reported by sex and age.
Disability inclusion
Designed in from the start, not added on. Venues, materials and channels are planned for access before an activity begins.
Conflict sensitivity
Do no harm, and strengthen what holds communities together, working through local institutions, not around them.
A climate lens on every programme
Drought and flood are operating conditions, not surprises. Every programme is planned to keep working when they arrive.
Digital-first delivery
Mobile, offline-ready and in local languages, with consent and data protection built in.
Hold us to them
Our standards for feedback, protection and transparency, and how anyone can raise a concern.
Build the next programme with us.
Partner with CAYO on any of our programmes, in the Somali Region and in the regions we open next. We seek multi-year partnerships.