CEODr. 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 was harboring, and earned an MD in Moscow in 2000. She was an OB-GYN resident in Russia up to 2003. She continued to go back to the internally displaced camp, which hosted up to 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 centre, and a smart farming agriculture project. She simultaneously manages the administrative aspects of DHAF as CEO of the organization in the United States.
Besides her work, Dr. Mohamed regularly attends conferences and speaks on behalf of DHAF, her mother’s lifework, and on Somalia. Recently, she was invited as a guest speaker at the World Forum on Human Rights in Brasilia, Brazil, and participated at a ceremony on kidney diseases in Chennai, India. Dr. Mohamed has been featured on media outlets such as TED, the Leonard Lopate Show, and the Daily Beast.
Jasmine Lam, Chief Operating Officer
Jasmine Lam is the Chief Operating Officer at DHAF and has been with the organization for over 4 years. In 2013, she set up DHAF’s office in Nairobi, Kenya, managing the administrative, human resources, financial, and outreach departments. After her experience in Nairobi, she is spearheading DHAF’s office in the United States and expanding the organization to Canada.
Besides her work with DHAF, she is active in research, particularly in the areas of foreign policy analysis, IDPs, refugees, and post-conflict reconstruction and development. In th