Woman advocating for crime-free Mombasa to get international peace award

A Kenyan woman has been named as among this year's Global Peacebuilder Awardees.

Shamsa Abubakar, popularly known as Mama Shamsa, will receive the award at the 2024 Protect Our Planet International Conference and Festival in New Delhi, India.

The Global Peace Awards underscore the importance of moral and innovative leadership, an ethic of public service, and a willingness to transcend boundaries of religion, ethnicity, culture, and nationality

Speaking with Eastleigh Voice, Shamsa said she was honored to be representing Mombasa and Kenya at large.

"I am grateful for the recognition and award. I appreciate Global Peacebuilder for acknowledging a local woman from the grassroots. This is not for me, but for all the women and young people in Kenya and Africa," she said.

A Mombasa native, Shamsa was recognized for her passion for promoting unity, integration, and acceptance of diversity among women, regardless of ethnicity, religion, social class, or political affiliation.

As a board representative for the African Women of Faith Network, Shamsa has been addressing issues affecting the community, such as early marriages, gender-based violence, and violent extremism.

She represents the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims as chair of the Mombasa Women of Faith Network.

She also chairs the Mombasa Women of Faith Network, where she speaks for the Kenya Muslim Supreme Council.

She was recognized as Kenya's National Chair for Peace and Security in 2021 after winning the Kenya Shujaa Award and the Head of State Commendation (HSC) in 2020.

She founded the Focus on Women and Youth in Coast Province for Political Development, a grassroots initiative, in 2014.

Shamsa became the first female chair of the Nyali Sub-county District Peace and Security Committee.

Following the rampant criminal activity in Mombasa, she started a campaign to reform over 200 youth in 2019.

This developed into a multisectoral involvement with participants and leaders from the government, civil service, and religious sectors.

Since its launch in 2019, the campaign has helped over 1,000 young people change by allowing them to choose a life away from crime and receive counselling and training.

Shamsa last year won the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity 2023.

The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity described her as a Kenyan peace mediator and community mobilizer.

The Global Peace Awards were first conferred in 2011 at the Global Peace Convention in Seoul, Korea, to honor government, civil society, and faith leaders and organizations whose exemplary efforts have substantially advanced the vision and mission of building a world of peace and shared prosperity

The 2023 Global Peace Awards recipients were honoured at an awards gala in Manila, the Philippines, on December 14