Aden Ibrahim Aw Hirsi

Adam hails from the Marehan Reer Diini Sub clan. The great grandson of Sheikh Aw Hirsi, a well-known Qadiri Sufi leader, Aden Ibrahim Aw Hirsi, was born in 1978 in the southern Gedo region of Somalia. Aden was born to Hafitha Sheikh Ali and Ibrahim Moallim Guuleed Aw Hirsi in Sarinley neighborhood of Baardheere district in December. At the time of growing up, Sarinley was home to one of the best Koranic Schools in the country, Moallim Ahmed Sarmaaleh's Koranic School. Also, present in Sarinley is the tomb of Sayyid Warsame Jama of the Qadiriyah order of Sufism.

He attended primary and secondary schools in Sarinley and Bardera. He spent a good part of his growing years in the Bardera District, where many of his family members and relatives have lived for generations.

Adam has master's degree in Social Sciences from Kenya Methodist University.

Earlier in life Aden was intrigued by the dynamics of languages. He focused mainly on Tafseer (Quran Translationin Arabic) and English Books. A few years later, he began his translation and interpreting career while still a teenager and in high school. He continued performing interpreting and relief jobs through much of the late 1990s. In this capacity, he had worked for CARE International and UNHCR as a local staff, and later co-founded SADO, a local non-profit organization.[1]

Between 2003 and 2006, Aden taught English and Somali at Columbus State Community College[2] in Columbus city of State of Ohio of The United States. In 2008, he cofounded SomaliCAN, an outreach and advocacy organization that provides services and information to Somalis in the United States of America and beyond.

As a writer, Aw Hirsi has authored numerous books and glossaries including:

• Somali for Icebreaking, 2003[6]
• Queen Arraweloh's Mean Throne: Translation, 2001,
• Things we Have in Common: Short Stories, 2003, and
• The Somali Court Interpreter, 2005[7]