Source: Helsinki Times
THE FINNISH Refugee Council has nominated Somali-born special nurse Saido Mohamed as Refugee Woman of the Year for 2011. This year the prize was awarded to a female refugee who has performed outstanding voluntary work.
Saido Mohamed, 36, has volunteered with bodies such as the Finnish Somali Association and carried out preliminary outreach work for the youth organisation Kanava Nuoriso ry, in which adult Somalis are on call on week nights and weekends in areas affected by unrest by young Somalis. Mohamed worked with the Finnish League for Human Rights in 2002 on the KokoNainen project, a preventative initiative against female circumcision.
Saido Mohamed currently serves as the deputy chairwoman of the Finnish Somalia Network, and is the only woman serving on the network’s board. Over the last ten years she has also cooperated on a voluntary basis with the association Sahed ry, serving as chairwoman of the board this year.
“As Refugee Woman of the Year I want to continue with the voluntary work I’ve undertaken so far. I also want to draw people’s attention to the large number of young men and women from different walks of life who perform important, grassroots-level work with young people of different cultural backgrounds. There are so many people in this country whose voices are not currently heard,” Saido Mohamed says.
MATTHEW PARRY – HT
LEHTIKUVA – MIKKO STIG
