Hawa Hassan is no stranger to death and destruction.

As civil war gripped her home country of Somalia in 1990, she and her husband fled.

“When I left, it was awful. I saw people being killed, I see people die, you know, I see women have baby and the baby die, I see a lot of men killed in front of us, but I’m glad I didn’t die,” Ms Hassan said.

“You fight for your life, you try whatever, no matter what happens.

“We said, well, we just have to keep walking until we get somewhere that’s safe.” It took the couple three weeks on foot to reach safety at a refugee camp in bordering Kenya.

Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-04/refugee-hawa-hassan-reaches-out-to-others/5367928