My name is Amal Farah Adan. I’m a medical doctor at the Edna Adan University Hospital in Somaliland. I’m the Deputy Medical Director and the Head of the Newborn Unit. 

I wanted to become a doctor because when I was studying, there were very few female doctors in our society. We have one of the highest maternal mortality rates and women don’t usually get as much access to services because there are not many female doctors. Culturally, it’s very difficult for women with women related health issues to go to a male doctor. So that is why I became a doctor. 

The best thing about being a doctor is that I can provide services that could help maintain the health of my people. The most challenging thing is that our health system has been destroyed by the civil war and we’re still working on rebuilding that infrastructure. There are times when we don’t have the resources that will help us diagnose some illnesses and we have to send some patients abroad to get those services.  

Our health system has been improving. More doctors and nurses and medical personnel are being trained and graduating yearly. We are very grateful for the books we received. I believe that these helped us train and teach a lot of our students in the university, as well as doctors, to improve and update our medical knowledge. And I believe that with such resources we will reach the optimum goals in providing the best health services. 

Books give people power. Knowledge is power. The more knowledgeable you are, the freer you are, the more you’re able to do for your community.

If tomorrow all the medical books disappear, it will be very difficult to treat many issues in our communities. The children and the new generation won’t have access to proper services. Illnesses and diseases will rise. And that will lead to a very weak community and we won’t reach our developmental goals. 

Books are very important. If you read a book, you will be able to travel all around the world and get to know a lot of information that will help you grow and you will always feel free with books. My hope for my community is that one day we’ll reach zero illiteracy in our country, and we’ll be a community that reads. 

Hear more from Dr Amal about the impact of brand-new books in this short film: 

---

All images and video © Mustafa Saeed