Fatima Jibrell
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Fatima Jibrell ( so, Fadumo Jibriil, ar, فاطمة جبريل; born December 30, 1947) is a
Somali-American Somali Americans are Americans of Somali ancestry. The first ethnic Somalis to arrive in the U.S. were sailors who came in the 1920s from British Somaliland. They were followed by students pursuing higher studies in the 1960s and 1970s, by the l ...
environmental activist. She was the co-founder and executive director of the Horn of Africa Relief and Development Organization (now
Adeso Adeso (previously Horn Relief) is Nairobi-based humanitarian non-governmental organization. The organisation was founded by Fatima Jibrell in 1991, who handed leadership over to her daughter Degal Ali in 2006. The organisation is noted for it ...
), co-founder of Sun Fire Cooking, and was instrumental in the creation of the Women's Coalition for Peace.


Biography

Jibrell was born on December 30, 1947, in Sanaag,
Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...
to a nomadic family.Geoffrey Gilbert, ''World poverty'', (ABC-CLIO: 2004), p.111 Her father was a merchant marine who settled in New York City. As a child in Somalia, she attended a British
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
until the age of 16, when she left the country to join her father in the United States. There, Jibrell graduated from Temple High School.Dorothy Otien
"Environmentalist Who Returned From USA to Salvage Forests"
''East African Standard'' (June 26, 2002)
In 1969, she returned to Somaliland and worked for the government, whereafter she married her husband, Abdurahman Mohamoud Ali, a
diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
. While she and her family were stationed in Iraq, Jibrell began undergraduate studies at the University of Damascus in nearby
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. In 1981, her husband was transferred to the U.S., where she completed her Bachelor of Arts in English. She eventually went on to pursue a Master's in
Social Work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
from the University of Connecticut. While living in the U.S., Jibrell and her husband raised five daughters, including
Degan Ali Degan Ali is the Somali-American humanitarian consultant and the executive director of Adeso. She is best known for her critique of power dynamics in the humanitarian aid system and promotion of cash assistance. Early life and education Bor ...
. She also became an American citizen.


Environmentalism

Spurred on by the civil war in Somalia that began in 1991, Jibrell along with her husband and family friends co-founded the Horn of Africa Relief and Development Organization, colloquially referred to as Horn Relief, a non-governmental organization (NGO) for which she served as the executive director. In 2012, Horn Relief officially changed its name to
Adeso Adeso (previously Horn Relief) is Nairobi-based humanitarian non-governmental organization. The organisation was founded by Fatima Jibrell in 1991, who handed leadership over to her daughter Degal Ali in 2006. The organisation is noted for it ...
. While Jibrell retired as executive director in 2006, she maintains a role on the organization's board of directors and in its Somalia programs.Fatima Jibrell - Goldman Prize
Adeso describes its mission as grassroots level work aimed at uplifting local communities. Jibrell was instrumental in the creation of the
Women's Coalition for Peace A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...
to encourage more participation by women in politics and social issues. She also co-founded
Sun Fire Cooking The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radia ...
, which aims to introduce
solar cookers Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...
to Somalia so as to reduce the reliance on
charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...
as a fuel. In 2008, Jibrell wrote and co-produced a short film entitled ''Charcoal Traffic'', which employs a fictional storyline to educate the public about the charcoal crisis. The film was directed by the filmmaker
Nathan Collett Nathan Collett is a filmmaker based in Nairobi, Kenya. Film career Overview Collett's work focuses on those on the margins of society as well as on environmental issues. He has filmed across the world, including location footage in Somalia and S ...
. In 2011, Jibrell along with retired Australian diplomat James Lindsay also published ''Peace and Milk: Scenes of Northern Somalia'', a photography book on Somalia's nomadic countryside and life. The work has received international accolades from environmental organizations, including the Goldman Environmental Foundation and Résistants pour la Terre.


Anti-charcoal campaign

Through Horn Relief, Jibrell mounted a successful campaign to salvage old-growth forests of
acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
trees in the northeastern part of Somalia. These trees, which can grow up to 500 years old, were being cut down to make
charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...
since this so-called "black gold" is highly in demand in the
Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
, where the region's
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
tribes believe the acacia to be sacred. However, while being a relatively inexpensive fuel that meets a user's needs, the production of charcoal often leads to deforestation and
desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...
. As a way of addressing this problem, Jibrell and Horn Relief trained a group of adolescents to educate the public on the permanent damage that producing charcoal can create. In 1999, Horn Relief coordinated a peace march in the northeastern Puntland region of Somalia to put an end to the so-called "charcoal wars." As a result of Jibrell's lobbying and education efforts, the Puntland government in 2000 prohibited the exportation of charcoal. The government has also since enforced the ban, which has reportedly led to an 80% drop in exports of the product.


Awards

For her efforts environmental degradation and desertification, Jibrell has received a number of awards. In 2002, she was presented the Goldman Environmental Prize, the most prestigious grassroots environmental award. In 2008, she also won the National Geographic Society/
Buffett Foundation The Buffett Foundation is a charitable organization formed 1964 in Omaha, Nebraska, by investor and industrialist Warren Buffett as a vehicle to manage his charitable giving. It was renamed the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation in honor of his wif ...
Award for Leadership in Conservation. In 2014 Jibrell received the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)
Champions of the Earth The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established Champions of the Earth in 2005 as an annual awards programme to recognize outstanding environmental leaders from the public and private sectors, and from civil society. Award details T ...
award for her environmental conservation work. Additionally in 2016 Jibrell received the Takreem Award for Environmental Development and Sustainability.


Notes


External links


Horn Relief (now Adeso) official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jibrell, Fatima 1947 births Living people Ethnic Somali people American people of Somali descent American environmentalists American women environmentalists Somalian environmentalists Somalian women environmentalists University of Connecticut alumni Somalian Muslims African-American Muslims Goldman Environmental Prize awardees 21st-century American women