SOS Nursery Teacher kidnapped in Somalia

Yesterday, on Tuesday 16 June 2009, around 4.00pm East African time, two men armed with pistols stopped a private vehicle carrying a driver and three passengers which included two staff members from the SOS Children’s Village in Mogadishu.

The two men asked Mrs Kaltun Mustaf Haji, the Principal of the SOS Nursery, to get out of the car and took her with them in the car in which they were travelling. The other two passengers and the driver were unharmed. The motive behind the abduction, the people responsible and the whereabouts of Mrs Kaltun Mustaf remain unknown and no formal claim of responsibility has been made so far.
Mrs Kaltun Mustaf has been working with SOS Children in Somalia since 1997 first as a Nursery teacher and then, from 2003, as the Nursery Principal. SOS Children Somalia is closely working with the family, with elders and leaders in Mogadishu to ensure Mrs. Kaltun’s safe release.

SOS Children continues to work in difficult circumstances in Somalia.

Last year the chief nurse at the SOS Hospital was shot dead and Ahmed Ibrahim, National Director of SOS Children Somalia wrote to all the international member associations pleading that we be allowed to carry on the vital work in Somalia in full knowledge of the risks: "We would like to remind our partners that SOS Children is one of the few NGOs (if not the only one) that has continued to operate throughout the civil war, for which we have achieved a great deal of respect from the local population. Before making any decision that might jeopardize our operations we should consider the consequences for the people of Somalia, who have been deserted by so many former friends."

Commenting on the kidnapping this morning, Andrew Cates CEO of SOS Children UK said "Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleague Kaltun Mustaf and her family, and we hope for her speedy safe return. This kidnap again reminds us of the risks which our field workers take on selflessly motivated only by the knowledge that their presence makes such a huge difference to children's lives."

Source:Ecoterra, June 17, 2009

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