Mohamed A Farah was born in 1984 and was affected by polio at the age of three and has a physical disability. He graduated from the University of Somalia in Public Administration and since 2007 Mohamed has been advocating for disabled people on a volunteer basis motivated only by the drive to work for the general rights of disabled people in Somalia.
In 2011 Mohamed founded a disabled people’s organization (DPO) called Somali Disability Empowerment Network (SODEN) which assists the mobility challenged, people with visual impairment and deaf persons. His organization SODEN works in the entire country and provides disabled people with two types of support: capacity building and advocacy for disabled people’s rights.
In 2015 Mohamed received an award by East Africa Disability Aid based in London UK, handed by the deputy prime minster of Somalia and the Minister of Human Rights and Family. He also received another honor certificate from the Federal Government of Somalia.
Mohamed launched a new initiative campaign addressing accessibility such as mobility access and he got support from the government specifically the Minister of public works and Reconstruction, and is responsible for establishing wheelchair ramps in a host of public places in all Somalia.
Mohamed is a member of the steering committee of Somalia Human Rights Defenders Coalition which is a partner of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Projects (EHAHRDP) working in some countries in Africa, with its base in Kampala-Uganda.