Discovering New Hope
Aden Adawe Ali may appear as an ordinary refugee from a distance. But once you interact with him, you realize he also works as a Security Guard at the LWF Rehabilitation Center where staff consider him as one of their best guards.
Aden fled from Somalia to Daadab in 1992 with his son due to civil war. He vividly recalls the death of his dear wife and two sons. The war left its mark on his body in the form of gunshot wounds on his left leg above his knee joint. This physical disability left his left leg shorter, causing him to limp while walking. He occasionally undergoes therapy offered at the LWF rehabilitation center in Hagadera, and until today, he has never remarried. One can easily sense the void that was left in his life by his wife and sons’ passing.
After arriving in Daadab, he began working for a local businessman making donkey carts. The pay was enough for him to support himself and his son. Later, he was employed with CARE International as a security guard in Hagadera. In 2012, he was taken by Handicap International (HI) to work in the same position. During this period, he attended trainings offered at the center on wheelchair management and production of local assistive and mobility aids for persons living with disabilities (PWDs) in refugee camps.
When LWF was mandated by UNHCR to serve PWDs in Hagadera and Kambioos in 2013, he was retained together with other rehabilitation staff and has been working since then as a Security Guard. In his role, Aden is among the lowly paid refugee staff in the camp, though it does not bother him. According to Hassan Ahmed, Senior Disability Supervisor at the Rehabilitation Center in Hagadera, he is friendly to all and ready to support clients visiting the center on a daily basis. He supports bedridden clients brought to the center from the blocks in the camp using donkey carts and a hired taxi funded by Lutheran World Relief (LWR) and Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (BPRM) by transferring them to their wheelchairs as they head for physiotherapy, occupational therapy and postural and mobility aid trainings.
A keen learner, Adawe is aggressive and always willing to learn. He is able to do things that are beyond his job description such as repairing and maintenance of assistive and mobility devices, and welding. At times he assists the cleaner in cleaning the compound at the rehabilitation center in Hagadera. In 2015 Adawe was among staff trained by LWF on mainstreaming and inclusion of disability in the society. The training was funded by ALWS Capacity building and it was crucial to his role as a security guard since it involved issues regarding promoting PWDs access to the rehabilitation center but also other service providers in the camp.
In January 2016, he was promoted to the position of a Technical Aid Artisan which was a morale booster for him. He is very delighted and his morale has really improved. In his new position he will be able to assist and serve persons living with disabilities that come to the center for assistive and mobility aids, prosthesis, repairs, demonstrations and trainings, among other things. Just like many other PWDs who have made it, he has also proved that disability is not inability. He has given hope to the other staff to always dream of a better future.
Prepared By: Stephen Areba a Postural Management and Mobility Aid Trainer in LWF, Dadaab, Community Services Sector
