Fatuma Abdulkadir Adan (born ) is a

Kenyan The Demographics of Kenya is monitored by the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics. Kenya is a multi-ethnic state in East Africa. Its total population was at 47,558,296 as of the 2019 census. A national census was conducted in 1999, although t ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and peace ambassador. She is a recipient of the Stuttgart Peace Prize.

Life

Adan was born to parents who were from two warring tribes in

Marsabit Marsabit is a town in the northern Marsabit County in Kenya. It is situated in the former Eastern Province and is almost surrounded by the Marsabit National Park. The town is located east of the centre of the East African Rift at an elevatio ...

, Northern Kenya. After her training as a lawyer, she returned to her hometown in order to promote peace between the conflicting Borana Oromo, Gabra and

Rendille people The Rendille (also known as Rendille, Reendile, Rendili, Randali, Randile, and Randille) are a Cushitic ethnic group inhabiting the Eastern Province of Kenya. Etymology The ethnonym ''Rendille'' translates as "Holders of the Stick of God". Ove ...

s. In 2003, she founded

Horn of Africa Development Initiative The Horn Of Africa Development Initiative (HODI) is a non-profit organisation based in Marsabit, Kenya. Founded by Fatuma Abdulkadir Adan in 2003, the organisation's mission is to champion justice and development in northern Kenya through advocac ...

, a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

she uses to foster peace and advocate for education in Kenya. Through the Horn of Africa Development Initiative, Adan launched a programme called "Shoot to score, not to Kill", that uses

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

to engage Kenyan youths in advocacy for peace. Horn of Africa Development Initiative (HODI) is based on four supporting pillars: Advocacy, Education, Economic sustainability and Inter-ethnic Cohesion. Through HODI she started a programme "Breaking the Silence" which has four modules: Be yourself, be healthy, be empowered and know something about finance. Fatuma Adan was the first African woman to be elected as member of the in 2015. In 2017 she was nominated as part of the Dream Team of the Global Goals World Cup. In January 2011, Adan received the Stuttgart Peace Prize for "combining soccer and emancipation". In 2013 she was invited to talk about her work with the Horn of Africa Development Initiative at the

Geneva Peace Talks Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

on 20 September 2013. The talks were organised by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and other groups for the

International Day of Peace The International Day of Peace, also officially known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might ...

.Fatuma Abdulkadir Adan
, Geneva Peace Talks, UN, Retrieved 27 February 2016 Adan won
Commonwealth Points of Light Award
in 2018 for her work with HODI bringing communities together and championing the rights of women and girls.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adan, Fatuma Abdulkadir 1978 births Living people Kenyan activists Kenyan women activists 21st-century Kenyan lawyers People from Marsabit County 21st-century Kenyan women lawyers