On March 29th, Horn Relief announced that after 20 years of operations, the organization was changing its name to Adeso, a word derived from African Development Solutions. The announcement was made at an event held in Nairobi, Kenya, which was attended by over 180 representatives from government, diplomatic missions, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.
“Over 20 years ago, we began our work in one town, in Badhan, Somalia. Now we are working with communities in three African countries – Somalia, Kenya and South Sudan. We are a very different organization today than we were in 1991,” explains Degan Ali, Adeso’s Executive Director. “We touch countless more lives in Kenya and Somalia: more women, youth and pastoralists, as well as returnees in South Sudan. Having worked on this new brand for over a year now, we feel it captures where we came from, our growth, and where we are today.”
During the event, Adeso also introduced its new logo, which reflects the organization’s vitality and the fertility of African landscapes. Its three strands, explained Ali, represent different approaches and audiences, all coming together to form a powerful image of unity.
Adeso, formerly Horn Relief, was founded in 1991 by Fatima Jibrell, a Somali American who was living in the United States at the time. “I was devastated by what was happening to the country of my birth, Somalia – what was happening to its people, its women and youth, and its environment,” explained Jibrell. “The need to create change drove much of the work I have done, and led me to found this organization.”
Now an international non-governmental organization, Adeso is committed to an Africa that is not dependent on aid but on the resourcefulness and capabilities of its people. In 2003, Adeso – then known as Horn Relief – launched the largest unconditional cash transfer seen to date in Somalia.
Since then, the organization has emerged as a leader in a new field, providing guidance and trainings to other organizations, and having implemented more than 20 cash transfer programs across three countries.
In 2010, Adeso established its first program in Kenya, and in 2011 it expanded again to South Sudan. With its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and a liaison office in Washington, DC, the organization now has field offices in nine locations. Its current programs are reaching over 20,000 households.
