Our Founder

Fatuma A. Adan founded HODI in 2003. At the time, she was a recent graduate of law school. She established HODI as a community-based organization to address the inadequacy of access to legal services for the poor people of Marsabit. She shunned salaried employment at the Kenyan Judiciary to, instead, provide a small legal aid desk with six volunteers for people who needed, but could not afford, legal representation in court cases.

Fatuma continued growing the organization with the support of volunteers, friends and family and in 2007, registered it as a non- governmental organization.

Fatuma served as the Executive Director and currently sits on the Board. She has been the face and the voice of HODI for 17 years.

Fatuma won the Stuttgart Peace Prize in 2011 for her work in using football to work for peace and reconciliation in Marsabit.

Fatuma also won the Commonwealth Points of Light Award in 2018 for her work with HODI in Marsabit.