Habibo Haji

Conquering the Odds, Journey of a Shepherd Girl is the amazing story of a young girl who grew up in a primitive village in Africa. Her life is one of difficulty and hardship, survival at best! Yet, because of unyielding determination, she has succeeded in life. Her successes, however, have not been without emotional strain and scars. She was given up by her mother at the young age of six months to live with her grandmother in a primitive village in Somalia. She slept in a hut built by her grandmother, which was little more than woven rugs draped over an igloo style structure made from tree branches tied together. By the time she turned five, her grandmother had taught her how to graze the animals by herself, which she had done each day, seven days per week in the grasslands of Somalia fending off jackals by day and hyenas by night. By the age of eleven, she was grazing her grandmother’s cattle by herself as a nomad for months on end in a male-dominated role having to fend for herself, sometimes successfully sometimes not, from the young men herding their herds of cattle and camels. Sleeping in the forest at night with the other females of the village and herding the animals during the daytime, she survived the murder and rapes, which went on around her, much of which she witnessed. At fifteen years old, providence brought Habibo to the largest refugee camp in the world – Dadaab, located in western Kenya. Built to hold 90,000, it had swollen to 150,000 by the time she arrived there; it is now 460,000 and growing by the day. In Dadaab for three years, she helped her mother care for her younger brother and three sisters while living in their makeshift tent. Fearing for her life at night from marauders, rapists, thieves, and murderers, she also witnessed the severe malnutrition and death of those around her, especially the very young and the very old. Selected by lottery to come to America, she came by herself, barely more than a teenager, with no relatives or friends, unable to speak the language and unfamiliar with western culture. An amazing woman, not without scars and plenty of tears, she has not only survived but thrived throughout her life. Her inner strength is an example and encouragement to all people, men, and women, young and old alike. Through it, her wisdom, courage, strength, and determination of spirit shine through for all to see. She believes anything is possible and that no obstacle is too big. We can all persevere and conquer.