Amina Hassan Ahmed, hsc
Senior Consultant &
Gender Advisor, HSC
Amina is a senior consultant with over 22 years experience managing
consulting initiatives on peacebuilding, gender-based violence and
education throughout Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. She has a
cumulative experience of 30 years in programmes development and
teaching in primary schools and Early Childhood Development (ECD)
centres. Amina completed Primary Teachers Certificate (PTC) in 1987
and started teaching till 1992 when she was promoted to Teacher
Advisory Centre (TAC) Tutor. In 1991, she was again promoted to an
ECD trainer and moved to different grades subsequently.
Born in Mandera County, some 54 years ago, the direct accounts of inter-communal violence inspired Amina to form the first peace organisation in Mandera. She started Mandera Women for Peace and Development (WFPD) in the year 2000 after attending a regional women’s workshop in peacebuilding and conflict management held in Wajir in 1998, and became its coordinator. In 2010, WFPD was registered as an NGO known as Horn of Africa Women Empowerment Network (HAWENKA) and she is to date serving as its CEO. In 2005, Amina’s peacebuilding efforts earned her Head of State Commendation (HSC) awarded by the President of the Republic of Kenya.
Amina manages complex problems and provides integrated solutions informed by thorough analysis and contextual understanding. She has conducted in-depth interviews, trained data collectors and analysed information using wide-range of methods. She was the lead consultant for the review of IGAD’s Conflict Early Warning Mechanism (CEWARN) Strategy 2012-2019 and the lead researcher for the Conflict Analysis of the Mandera Triangle (cross-border areas of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia) for FAO and IGAD.
Amina is a pioneer in trauma healing and social reconciliation. After participating in the International Regional course organized by Coalition for Peace in Africa (COPA) in the year 2002, from where she gained knowledge to successfully modify a traditional ceremony, Abay Abay, in the Somali context as a tool of trauma healing and reconciliation for the women from hostile communities. Amina holds BA in Development Studies and has MA from the Centre for Justice and Peacebuilding, Eastern Mennonite University, USA.