Abubakar Mohamed Adan has achieved what his Peers can only dream of

Abubakar Mohamed Adan, popularly known as “mheshimiwa” by locals from Garissa, is a peace and humanitarian activist who has shaped the lives of many people in his community in his tender age.

The soft spoken 23 year old comes from a humble family but is already highly respected in his community for the many things he has done as a peace activist. He is the oldest in a family of nine and is eager to make his father proud and be a good example to his young siblings.

Adan pursued his Diploma in Business Management at Umma University located in Kajiado County then commenced his degree at Catholic University of Eastern Africa where he is currently undertaking Bachelor of Arts in Development Studies.

He became passionate about peace, community engagement and human right affairs in 2015 when Garissa university was attacked by terrorists.

Coming from a pastoral background, Abubakar is  currently working with the Pastoral Girls Initiative on a Cash Transfer Program where he has helped the organization grow in various capacities. For instance, he has managed to map households in some sub counties and issued them with humanitarian help based on their needs.

He recently, they managed to donate Covid-19 response items including food, masks, soap and sanitizers to Garissa prisoners in a bid to help them fight this pandemic. He also donated similar items to the County government of Garissa.

He has also worked with Equal Access International East Africa and Perspective Media Group as a social media peace influencer in efforts to fight Violent Extremism in Garissa County.

Mr. Adan was part and parcel of the Garissa County Peace Elders Committee (GCPEC) Organization as a facilitator. Under his leadership, they managed to train over 1,000 youths to advocate for peace which saw him ranked the most hardworking staff in 2019.

Other than that, Abubakar participated in the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) that was launched by President Barrack Obama. He has participated in various conferences organized by the Red Cross, UNICEF, Garissa Youth Muslim Organization(GYMO), YADEN East Africa and many more.

At a tender age of 22, Abubakar was featured in the Daily Nation as a peace advocate and young change maker in Kenya thus becoming the first person in his village to receive such coverage. He has also been interviewed several times in the country’s mainstream media such as NTV, KTN and Citizen TV.

Asked about his future plans and ambitions, Adan says aspires to be the World’s Youngest UN Secretary General and currently, he interacts with international organizations in Kenya such as the Global Peace Foundation.

As a humanitarian person, his plan is to leave a legacy in the world by building the largest humanitarian centre to help the less fortunate kids more so to educate orphans and support the livelihood of the communities.