For Shamsiya Ibrahim-Barde, peace building is not an abstract concept discussed in conference rooms, but a cause shaped by personal experience, years of living in a conflict-affected part of North-East, Nigeria, and encounters with survivors of violence.
A native of Nangere Local Government Area of Yobe State and resident of Potiskum, Barde has emerged as a youth peace advocate, gender-based violence (GBV) campaigner and community resilience advocate.
Her work has taken her from grassroots communities in Yobe to national policy dialogues on preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE), where she has participated in engagements aimed at giving young Nigerians a voice in peace and security policymaking.
But behind the advocacy is a personal connection to the crisis confronting the region, she said.
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"Coming from this part of Nigeria, directly or indirectly, I am a survivor as well, a victim of terrorism," she added.
According to her, that experience made her ask what she could contribute to changing the narrative about communities affected by insurgency.
"I have this mindset of, if I can do it, another person can do it as well," she said.
From microbiology to humanitarian advocacy
Barde's journey didn't initially point towards peace building or GBV advocacy.
She attended Amman International Nursery and Primary School before proceeding to Government Girls' College, Damaturu and Federal Government Girls' College, Potiskum. She obtained a National Certificate in Education in Computer Science/Biology from the Federal College of Education, Potiskum before gaining direct entry into Federal University, Dutse, where she read Microbiology.
Her involvement in development and humanitarian work grew after her undergraduate studies when she became involved in initiatives that exposed her to community-level challenges.
She later pursued a master's degree in Public Health, further strengthening her interest in issues affecting vulnerable communities.
"My journey started with the developmental space at large," she said, explaining that her involvement with organisations and programmes gradually opened opportunities for her to work in humanitarian and advocacy spaces.
Her work eventually expanded into GBV, climate change, PCVE, peace education and youth resilience.
'Why GBV became a priority'
Barde said her interest in GBV grew from observing the connection between terrorism and the vulnerabilities experienced by women and children in conflict-affected communities.
"My journey on GBV started in 2023 when I was a fellow," she said.
She explained that survivors of terrorism could face different forms of gender-based violence, including sexual violence, physical abuse and denial of access to resources.
"I realised that you cannot separate survivors of terrorism with GBV," she said.
Through her fellowship, she received training on reporting and advocacy and began producing stories and conducting interviews around GBV in Damaturu and Potiskum.
Her advocacy has since expanded beyond journalism and awareness campaigns to direct community engagement. She participates in sensitisation activities, radio programmes, house-to-house campaigns and community meetings aimed at encouraging survivors to speak up; and helping communities understand the need to protect vulnerable people.
According to her, one of the changes she has witnessed is that some women who previously remained silent are increasingly willing to seek help.
"Women are not given the opportunity to open up and say their minds," she said, adding that sensitisation was helping communities understand that women should be listened to when they experience violence.
Going beyond survivors
Barde's impact, however, has not been limited to the people she directly speaks for.
Altijjani Hassan, a Yobe-based advocate who has worked with Barde on several projects, said she played a pivotal role in his understanding of GBV and peacebuilding.
Hassan said although both were already colleagues, his deeper understanding of gender-based violence developed through his interaction with Barde during her Human Angle fellowship.
"Shamsiya is one of the people I can say have played a pivotal role in my journey towards gender-based violence," he said.
According to Hassan, Barde helped build his capacity to understand GBV; and he continues to turn to her for information and resources relating to gender-based violence, peace building and counterterrorism.
"Whatever information and resources I need to know regarding gender-based violence or peace, counterterrorism, I will reach out to Shamsiya," he said.
For Barde, such peer engagement is part of the wider objective of building a generation of young people who can contribute to peace and community resilience.
From grassroots dialogue to national policy
Barde's peace building work has also taken her into the field of preventing and countering violent extremism. She was selected to participate in a youth programme focused on PCVE and subsequently became involved in peer-to-peer engagements with young people.
The engagements eventually contributed to a national youth policy dialogue in Abuja, involving young people, government officials and civil society organisations.
For Barde, the experience demonstrated the importance of connecting grassroots voices with policymakers.
"For someone to be reached out from the grassroots and his idea to be considered and presented as a policy recommendation, I think it is a very good achievement," she said.
Secondary trauma is real
However notable, her work comes with an emotional burden. Barde said constantly listening to accounts of violence, particularly those involving children, could affect advocates.
"Secondary trauma is real," she said.
She recalled encounters with survivors whose experiences remained with her long after they had left.
"Sometimes you come and interview a survivor or a victim. You go back home and sometimes you can't sleep because the memories just keep coming back," she said.
She said cases involving children were particularly difficult.
"No matter how strong you are, it is traumatising," she noted.
Barde explained that advocates supporting survivors also need psychosocial support because they can absorb some of the emotional weight of the experiences they encounter.
She said confidentiality was another major responsibility, particularly when people who had been involved in conflict or experienced violence opened up about their past.
"When someone opens up to you, it means that person trusted you," she said.
For her, protecting that trust means keeping sensitive information confidential, even when carrying the emotional burden becomes difficult.
The push
Among the experiences that have encouraged her to continue is the response of people she has supported. She recalled that a survivor recently named her child after her, an experience she described as a sign that her intervention had made a difference.
"That one alone shows that we are making impact and they are appreciating it," she said.
She added that such moments gave her encouragement to continue despite the difficult experiences associated with the work.
Poverty complicates fight against GBV
Barde said poverty remained one of the biggest obstacles to obtaining justice and support for survivors. She explained that even when survivors or their families agreed to pursue cases, they may not have the money needed for transportation, medical treatment and other processes.
"They will feel you convinced me but did not help me to the end," she said.
She cited the support being provided through organisations working with survivors, including assistance for transportation and treatment as helpful interventions.
But she believes more needs to be done to make justice accessible to vulnerable families.
One of Barde's specific recommendations is for the police to make officers responsible for investigating GBV cases available closer to communities.
She argued that requiring survivors and their families to travel long distances for secondary investigations places an additional burden on already vulnerable people.
"If they can actually assign an IPO, they should do that," she said.
According to her, having such capacity at the local-government level would reduce the financial and emotional burden on survivors and their families and could strengthen the prosecution of alleged perpetrators.
She believes visible prosecution can also send a message that communities take violence against women and children seriously.
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Beyond condemnation
Barde said advocacy must also recognise the economic realities confronting families. She cited child street hawking as an example, saying that simply telling poor families to stop sending children to the streets without providing alternatives may not solve the underlying problem.
"They will tell you that this is where we are getting something to eat," she said.
She, therefore, advocates interventions that address both protection and livelihood needs.
For her, the solution lies in sustained awareness, community engagement, economic support and stronger institutional responses.
'Sacrifice is part of living'
Despite the emotional demands of the work, Barde said she remained motivated by the possibility of helping people and contributing to a better society.
She described balancing humanitarian activities with her education and personal responsibilities as difficult but worthwhile.
"It was draining, but alhamdulillah," she said.
She also spoke about the personal cost of listening to survivors.
"There is no amount of money that will pay you for that sleep you missed," she noted.
She explained that sometimes, advocates would have to hold back their emotions in front of survivors and only release them later.
"You cannot actually cry in their presence. Sometimes you just excuse yourself to go and cry, clean your eyes, come back and console them," she also said.
For Barde, however, those sacrifices are part of the responsibility she has chosen.
She believes that lasting peace in the North-East would require government, humanitarian organisations, community-based organisations and citizens to work together.
"Everyone is contributing his quota because one cannot do without the other," she added.
While recognition may bring attention to her work, Barde's motivation remains rooted in the communities where her journey began.
For those who have worked alongside her, the impact is visible, not only in the communities she reaches but also the people she has inspired to become advocates.
