Keeping Hope Alive: How One Somali Woman Changed 90,000 Lives

In 1991, when the Somali government collapsed, famine struck, and aid groups fled, Dr. Hawa Abdithe, the "Mother Teresa of Somalia" and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, turned her 1,300 acres of farmland into a camp that has numbered up to 90,000 displaced people. Ignoring the clan lines that have often served to divide the country. she has dedicated herself to providing help for people whose lives have been shattered by violence and poverty. She inspired her daughters, Deqo and Amina, to become doctors, and together, they have saved tens of thousands of lives in her hospital, while providing an education to hundreds of displaced children.

In 2010, Dr. Abdi was kidnapped by radical insurgents, who also destroyed much of her hospital, simply because she was a woman. She, along with media pressure, convinced the rebels to let her go, and she demanded and received a written apology. Dr. Abdi's story of incomprehensible bravery and perseverance will inspire readers everywhere.

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