When it comes to helping those in need, the first thing that comes to mind is charity. The world tries to help the weak nations and communities by offering them monetary assistance. It does, to some extent, help them address their problems. It even helps the people living in a community enjoy a degree of peace. However, all effects of charity are temporary, and they begin to fade away after a short while. Charity brings happiness at the doorsteps of low-income homes momentarily. Once the effects of charity fade away, these families and communities are back to square one.
Charity does, however, ensure a steady flow of wealth from the rich to the poor, but it cannot address the roots of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and hunger. The world needs a better system that can provide long term benefits to cut the roots of these problems. Philanthropists and social entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Michael Bloomberg, George Soros are addressing the origins of the social issues that help in strengthening weak communities.
Hussein Abdi Abdullahi, a philanthropist and social entrepreneur from Somalia, is introducing the concept of holistic community development to the weak nations in the East African regions. He is an advocate of sustainable growth and development, which he hopes to achieve through a holistic approach.
Growing Up in a Refugee Camp
Life for Hussein was difficult since his birth. He was born on January 1, 1991, in Mogadishu, Somalia, into a Nomadic family from Ogaden. He was the second child in the family, and during his birth, civil war broke out in Somalia. The situation was getting worse every day, and it led his father to a decision of abandoning their hometown and migrated to Kenya for survival. Hussein and his family finally found refuge at the Dadaab Refugee Camps in Garissa County.
A refugee camp might seem like a temporary solution, but Hussein, along with his family, spent almost 17 years in that camp. Hussein spent his entire childhood in a challenging situation at these refugee camps. IT was a difficult time, but he did not give up. He went to Getune Primary School in Garissa until fifth grade and then entered El-Nino Primary School in Dagahaley till he was 17 years old.
Spending such a long time at a refugee camp instilled a sense of responsibility within the young boy. Hussein started thinking about ways he could make the lives of people living in East African nations. As he had to go through the challenges himself, he knew exactly what the people were going through. It was at the camps that Hussein decided to one day take a step that could end the suffering of people living in the third world.
Laying the Foundations of International Development & Humanitarian Organization
After 17 years in the Dadaab Refugee Camps, Hussein and his family got resettlement in the United States as refugees. The move to the United States was a turning point in Hussein’s life as he could now fulfill his responsibility of serving the people back in his hometown.
He graduated from Renton High School in Renton, Washington, and began preparing himself for the future. He completed multiple certifications and pieces of training from UNICEF and several other notable platforms. He acquired leadership, child protection, and justice in matters involving child victim training.
Hussein also obtained several diplomas in sustainable development, environmental science, childhood and youth studies, and many others. It was after all these certifications, pieces of training, and diplomas that he came to understand the value of holistic community development. It helped him with his vision of his non-profit organization.
He tirelessly worked on the concept and decided the build the foundation of his organization over holistic community development. He firmly believes that community development starts with people, and he created a plan which would work to strengthen the youth of a nation, resulting in better opportunities for the growth and development of a weak country.
On October 22, 2016, Hussein founded the International Development & Humanitarian Organization with Kristine Lynch. He aimed to use his organization to address issues including education health and hygiene, sanitation, human rights, gender equality, female education, and youth empowerment in nations located in the Horn of East Africa.
Building a Better World
In addition to founding IDHO, Hussein has more than eight years of experience in community advocacy and peace-building initiatives. Moreover, he actively participates in the humanitarian sector and girl child education to empower females and prepare them for a better future. He was appointed as the Youth Ambassador for Skyway Solutions in Washington. The organization provides youth and homeless the opportunity to grow and thrive. Most of Hussein’s efforts revolve around empowering youth because he believes that it is the biggest asset for every community.
In addition to this, he also co-founded the Ogaden Youth and Student Union (OYSU) in Washington State in 2013. It was founded as an international youth organization to support the rights of the Somali people in the Ogaden region under Ethiopian occupation. He also founded the Children’s Rights Club (CRC) in Dadaab Refugee Camps as a youth movement and community awareness of early childhood education.
Hussein is a philanthropist, human rights’ activist, social entrepreneur, and a community development professional who believes that every community needs strong youth to prosper. He is a firm believer in applying a holistic approach to strengthen weak communities and work on individual development as it lays the ground for sustainable growth and development of a community.
