Dr. Deqo Aden Mohamed

Somalia

Trip:

Northern Ireland

Mentored by:

Susan Thrasher

Business

CEO, Dr. Hawa Abdi Foundation

Dr. Deqo Aden Mohamed is the daughter of Dr. Hawa Abdi. She was born in Mogadishu, grew up feeding the refugees her mother harbored, and earned an M.D. in Moscow in 2000. She was an OBGYN resident in Russia until 2003. She continued to go back to the internally displaced camp, which hosted more than 90,000 people at one point, to work during her holidays.

She came to America as a refugee in 2003 and gained extensive experience working in healthcare. She became a naturalized American in 2008.

Today, she works full time on the ground in Somalia. She leads all operations in the Hawa Abdi Village in Lower Shabelle, while ensuring the safety of the 300 families who have found permanent shelter in the community. She leads the 400-bed Dr. Hawa Abdi General Hospital, the Waqaf-Diblawe Primary School, a women’s education center, and a smart farming agriculture project. She simultaneously manages the administrative aspects of DHAF as CEO of the organization in the United States.

2014 Updates:

Deqo is currently working towards a number of goals, set at the Global Ambassadors Program, for DHAF. These include expanding food production, conducting medical staff training, building a working dairy farm, constructing a soap production factory and starting a farmer's market.