My leadership Journey

Growing up in a country where there is no functioning central government, people suffer from poverty, security, discrimination against women, and a lack of access to education. This pushed me to think about promoting change in my community.

The outbreak of civil war had a devastating effect on education services in Somalia. By 1994, many schools had been destroyed, learning materials were unavailable and the majority of teachers and students had abandoned education. Since the collapse of the education system, communities have taken different approaches to establishing locally run education services, and I was one of the few students who had the opportunity to attend one of these informal schools.

After I graduated from high school, my friend and I decided to go back to our own village located 500 KM away from the city, where we took the initiative to establish an alternative basic schooling system for the village to create access to education for boys and girls from rural households. We provided weekend classes on basic reading and writing skills, and in less than six months, school attendance had increased 130 percent in the community, of which 90 percent were girls who could not go to school outside of their village due to safety and security concerns.

I have the privilege to be the Co-founder and Team Leader of a Youth Development Umbrella called Ahmed Guray High School students Club Association in Mogadishu, Somalia, locally known as (Naadiga Ardayda Kaqalijabisay Dugsiga Sare Axmed Guray – NAKADSA) where I served two terms as a chairperson between 2008-2012. During that time, I developed and led programs to build the capacities of youth on hard skills and empower them through trainings on self-growth, entrepreneurship, career, leadership, personal finance, and advocacy. Through that work, 50 local youth members created their own businesses on tailoring, phone repairs and mechanics.

After that, I have led a SolarGen Technologies project funded by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NFM) as a Business Development Associate, where I recruited, trained and mentored rural youth to become energy solution providers and solar entrepreneurs. Through this work, 30 youth members became active renewable energy advocates and solar entrepreneurs, each making an average of $1,000 annually through my mentorship.

I am passionate about positive change in the community through leadership, entrepreneurship, rural energy access, social entrepreneurship, business development, and management.