The horrifying outcomes of war in Africa motivated former Kenyan occupational therapist, Mohamed Sheikh Yussuf, to change career paths and study at The University of Queensland.
Mohamed will leave UQ’s School of Political Science and International Studies as a Master of Peace and Conflict Studies, which he plans to use to help stop violence at the source, rather than treating the end result in UNHCR-run refugee camps.
“I used to get satisfaction in rehabilitating my clients to be independent again, but I was enraged by the senseless maiming of innocent civilians and used to think about what I should do to halt, or at least limit the devastating impact of these conflicts,” he said.
“Like they say in public health, prevention is better than cure, meaning it’s cheaper to engage in conflict resolution than responding to devastation wrought by conflict in loss of limbs, lives and properties.”
