World
FARTUUN ADAN AND ILWAD ELMAN NAMED AS 2020 AURORA PRIZE LAUREATES
Somali Mother-and-Daughter Human Rights Activists Receive $1 Million Prize to Save Victims of Sex-trafficking, Provide Healthcare to Marginalized Populations, and more
September 17, 2020 – Yerevan, Armenia – The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative awarded the fifth annual Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity to Fartuun Adan and Ilwad Elman, the mother and daughter team who lead the Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre in Somalia. As Aurora Prize Laureates, they will receive a US $1,000,000 award and a unique opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by supporting the organizations that have inspired their humanitarian action. Fartuun Adan and Ilwad Elman have selected three organizations – Love Does, Panzi Foundation, and Prajwala – that fight for freedom and human rights, provide healthcare to marginalized populations, and save victims of sex-trafficking to be the beneficiaries of their million dollar prize.
Fartuun Adan and Ilwad Elman were chosen among the 2020 Aurora Humanitarians, or finalists, announced on April 24, 2020. Besides the Somali human rights defenders, these outstanding heroes include Congolese activist Angélique Namaika, refugee rescuers Sophie Beau and Klaus Vogel, and educator Sakena Yacoobi from Afghanistan.
To date, Aurora has launched or supported numerous projects in nearly 30 countries, benefitting almost a million people suffering from the atrocities of war, famine, lack of healthcare, genocide or human rights violations. Granted on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, the Aurora Prize seeks to expand the global humanitarian movement by enabling humanitarians worldwide to continue the cycle of giving.
Fartuun Adan and Ilwad Elman have been protecting women’s rights, promoting peacebuilding, and rehabilitating child soldiers for many years. Their courage, resilience, and unwavering commitment to the people of Somalia has brought this mother and daughter team global recognition.
“Fartuun Adan and Ilwad Elman embody the spirit of the Aurora Prize and our philosophy of Gratitude in Action, and we are delighted with this opportunity to express our deepest admiration and appreciation to them for the amazing work they are doing in Somalia. They give people a second chance, hope for the future, and inspiration to lead a meaningful life. Their courage, self-sacrifice, altruism, idealism, as well as actions on the ground reflect the values of the global Aurora movement,” noted Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York, Co-Founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, and Member of the Selection Committee.
Lord Ara Darzi, Co-Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London and Chair of the Aurora Prize Selection Committee, noted in his video announcement of the Laureates, “2020 has been a tumultuous year, but as with all crises, it has brought us together. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many new modern-day heroes like Fartuun Adan and Ilwad Elman emerged, reminding us of our common humanity.”
“For the last five years, Aurora has been spreading the message that acts of kindness make a difference when you add them up, and Fartuun’s and Ilwad’s courageous activism is a vivid testament to that,” said Samantha Power, Harvard professor, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Aurora Prize Selection Committee member.
Previous Aurora Prize Laureates include Burundian activist Marguerite Barankitse (2016), American physician and missionary Dr. Tom Catena (2017), Rohingya human rights campaigner Kyaw Hla Aung (2018) and Yazidi activist Mirza Dinnayi (2019).
On October 19, 2020, a special Gratitude in Action virtual event will be broadcast live from the New York Public Library to celebrate Aurora’s fifth anniversary by honoring the Aurora Prize Laureates and paying tribute to New York City COVID-19 heroes. A live event will also be held in March 2021 in New York City, along with an ecumenical service to commemorate those who fell victim to the coronavirus.
The funds raised at the events will help to continue the efforts of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and the Aurora Prize Laureates. You can join Aurora and support Gratitude in Action by making a contribution and learn more at www.auroraprize.org.
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About the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity
The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is a global humanitarian award. Its mission is to recognize and support those who risk their own lives, health or freedom to save the lives, health or freedom of others suffering as a result of violent conflict, atrocity crimes or other major human rights violations. The Aurora Prize Laureate is selected based on the nominee’s demonstration of courage, commitment and impact. On behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, an Aurora Prize Laureate is honored each year between 2015 and 2023 (in remembrance of the eight years of the Armenian Genocide 1915-1923) with a US $1,000,000 award, which gives the Laureate a unique opportunity to continue the cycle of giving and support the organizations that have inspired their humanitarian action.
The Aurora Prize Selection Committee is comprised of Nobel Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Leymah Gbowee; former president of Ireland Mary Robinson; human rights activist Hina Jilani; former president of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo; Médecins Sans Frontières co-founder and former foreign minister of France Bernard Kouchner; former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power; former CEO of Unilever and Co-founder and Chair of IMAGINE Paul Polman; human rights activist and Founding Director of Enough Project John Prendergast; President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York Vartan Gregorian. The Committee is chaired by the Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London Lord Ara Darzi. World famous peace and human rights activist Benjamin Ferencz and Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian George Clooney are the Committee’s Honorary Co-Chairs, and its honorary members include two-time President of Costa Rica and Nobel Laureate Oscar Arias; Artistic and General Director of Mariinsky Theatre and Principal Conductor of the Munich Philharmoniker Valery Gergiev and former foreign minister of Australia and President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group Gareth Evans.
Jigjiga – Ethiopia’s Somali regional lawmaker was killed in an officer-involved shooting at Garad Wiilwaal airport in Jigjiga city on Tuesday afternoon. According to witnesses, an airport security guard opened fire inside the airport, killing the Juweria Sub’is and injuring five others.
Many of the victims were travellers exiting the airport. The shooting resulted in suspended operations at Garad Wiilwaal airport. Liyu Police arrived at the airport and arrested the officer who was suspected of opening fire.
An eyewitness told BBC Somali that there was an argument between armed airport security officers before the shooting, although no clear motive has emerged.
Authorities do not believe that incident was terror-related. The deceased Member of Parliament, who was elected from the Dolo region, spent a lot of time working in humanitarian activities.
This story is developing, we will continue to update you.
Minnesota’s Abdullahi Bashir Abdi won the full-Qur’an category for the 11th International Quran Competition in Kuwait.
The names of the final winners of the three categories were announced at a gala ceremony held in the hall room of Hotel Regency near Salwar on Wednesday morning. Hafiz Abdullahi Bashir won the top prize, awards, and honors for coming first in the full-Qur’an category. The top winners received cash prizes totaling 152,000 Kuwaiti dinars.
Competitions to recite Qur’anic passages are popular in the Muslim world. The Ministry of Religion of Kuwait oversees the international competition that started on October 13. Expert judges from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen served in this competition.Hafiz Abdullahi Bashir is a student of Tibyan Canter in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Hafiz Abdullahi was selected as the representative of United States of America. Abdullahi has won 1st place in the last 4 competitions that he has participated in making this the 5th in a row.
Minneapolis, July 20, 2022 –
The Horn of Africa experiences two rainy seasons per year. The timing varies across the region,
but rains broadly fall from March to May. The lack of these rains in 2022 has been felt
particularly in equatorial parts of the Horn of Africa region, where the long rains contribute 70% of the annual total rainfall. Currently, 16.7 million people are projected to be in crisis (UNOCHA) or worse levels of high acute food insecurity solely due to the drought in The Horn of Africa.
Four consecutive rainy seasons have failed since late 2020, a climactic event not seen in the
last 40 years. This disaster is expected to be worse than the famine in 2011, when 260,000
people died in Somalia alone, 50% of those people being children under the age of 5.
Our Executive Director, Mohamed Idris, and Program Director, Jordan Greene, had the
opportunity to visit the Horn of Africa in June 2022. While in The Horn, they were able to witness firsthand the effects of the drought. It became apparent to Idris that the humanitarian situation in the horn of Africa region is alarming.
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report projects that global warming will negatively affect food systems in the region by shortening the growing season and increasing water stress. The combined population of Switzerland and Australia doesn’t add up to the 16.7 million people facing food insecurity in the Horn of Africa. The UNOCHA report further emphasized that the consequences of the prolonged drought conditions have extended to the loss of livestock, with 7 million deaths recorded so far. Another 22 million livestock are estimated to have been severely emaciated due to the drought.
The ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by the drought raises serious questions about future
food and water security in the Horn of Africa. The conditions have increased the workload for
women and female children who are responsible for providing water using donkeys or carrying it on their back; Access to water has increased to a walk between 3 – 5 miles each way. As a
result, female children drop out of school to assist their mothers with this burden.
ARAHA has launched a campaign to support families suffering from this drought. Our teams on the ground in the Horn of Africa allow ARAHA to know what supplies are most needed at this time and respond to the areas in the most need as fast as possible. These supplies include
rice/maize/wheat, cooking oil, evaporated milk, and water. According to our Program Director,
“We are able to distribute food baskets and non-food items for hundreds of drought-affected
families in The Horn of Africa. However, the needs are currently far beyond the resources we
have.”
ARAHA needs donations to continue providing immediate relief and aid to victims of
this disaster. The Executive Director of ARAHA urges donors to think about these families and
support ARAHA’s lifesaving work: “It’s a matter of life and death for these families. Let us save
families before it’s too late. ”
To donate, please visit www.araha.org/donate or text “ARAHA” to 44321.
If you would like more information about ARAHA’s current efforts in The Horn of Africa, please contact Jordan Greene, Program Director (jordan@araha.org), or Ashley Dial, Marketing Director (ashley@araha.org). To learn more about our relief campaign, please visit www.ARAHA.org.
About ARAHA:
ARAHA is a humanitarian non-governmental organization (NGO) that works in the Horn of Africa region, delivering essentials and developing opportunities. We have a diverse range of programs that brings life to our mission and adapts to the specific needs of each community in which it works. The organization aims to bring immediate relief to those in need throughout the Horn while simultaneously seeking to create the conditions for sustainable opportunity and self-reliance. In all programs ARAHA pursues, it seeks to responsibly enact its mission while delivering essentials and developing opportunities in communities across the Horn.
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