Windle Somalia DAFI Scholar plans to tackle food insecurity in Somalia – Success Series

Abshir Hassan is using his degree for creative solutions to tackle food insecurity in Somalia, starting with his very own greenhouse experiment.

Abshir Hassan was born in Baidoa, Somalia in 1994. Following a period of famine in Somalia that claimed the lives of over 250,000 people, Abshir’s family were forced to escape to Kenya in October 2010. Once they reached Dadaab refugee camp, his family settled in IFO 2, an additional zone set up to accommodate the influx of refugees from the famine.

Abdshir’s parents made the most of the opportunity for free education in the camp and enrolled him in Hawa Tako Primary School. Abshir reached grade 7, at which point the Kenyan government shut the camp, leaving Abshir’s family and ninety percent of all those living in IFO 2 camp to voluntarily repatriate back to Somalia. Resettling in in his birthplace of Baidoa, Abshir’s passion for education didn’t stop there: he continued his studies at Maruf primary and secondary schools until 12th Grade in 2021.

Looking toward higher education, Abshir decided agriculture was his passion.

“Growing up as a child, I witnessed the adverse effects of famine. I have a long-term plan to bridge the gap on food insecurity in my country and a dream of creating stable food security for my people.” Abshir said.

Pictured above: Abshir at his hay growing field

Upon learning about the 2022 DAFI scholarship intake, Abshir applied and was selected, earning him a spot at Zamzam University.

In his first year, Abshir has already experimented with growing his own hay grass, as well as growing his own vegetables in a university greenhouse. Using the university compound, Abshir hopes to continue his plan to tackle food insecurity in the region.

This post is part of Windle International’s Success Series – looking at how Windle-supported scholars and alumni are succeeding across the globe.