In 2022, children drove animals into a water queue from sunrise to sunset at Haji Khair in Puntland, Somalia. UNICEF reported that four failed rainy seasons had left about 3.5 million people facing acute water shortages. A solar-powered borehole drilled 400 metres deep supplied water to around 18,000 people, including 3,000 children, as well as their livestock.
The system included a 50,000-litre tank, two animal troughs, and community kiosks. Pastoralist Abdirizak Yusuf watched 230 goats, sheep, and camels queue at the animal water point.
Human and livestock waiting cannot be separated here. Healthy animals provide milk, meat, and income, so the order at the water point distributed the basis of a family's livelihood.