Orchard Park Student Wins Week of the Child and Youth Award
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Abdifatah Mahdi-Mohamed (centre) joins the HARRRP team and Orchard Park Principal Dawn Merlino after receiving his Week of the Child and Youth Award for community leadership.
By ROB FAULKNER
When Abdifatah Mahdi-Mohamed moved to Hamilton from Somalia eight years ago, he didn’t just arrive – he thrived.
Abdifatah, sometimes “Abdi” for short, become highly involved in his community.
Abdifatah participated in the Hamilton Association for Residential and Recreational Redevelopment Programs (HARRRP) YOUth Create program while at Dr. Davey elementary. At Sir John A. Macdonald secondary, he volunteered with HARRRP, his mosque, the YMCA to support newcomer youth, as a youth leader with CityKidz and with the Eva Rothwell Centre’s children’s programs.
He helped organize and create the Hoops non-profit basketball organization that offers free programs to youth across Hamilton. He may be well-known in some circles thanks to his support for the United Way.
And, judging by the awards he is receiving, Abdifatah’s community deeply appreciates his help.
This week, Abdifatah won the Community Leadership Award for Week of the Child and Youth. He received the award from committee’s honorary chair of the 37th annual community effort, Loretta Hill-Finamore, who spoke passionately about the importance of giving each child what they need to thrive.
The Week of the Child and Youth is organized by a committee of community partners dedicated to fostering and mobilizing the community to value and celebrate children and youth as distinctive and cherished members of society through the promotion of activities and events.
“Abdifatah is an exemplary person that youth look up to,” Rebekah Clause, director of youth services for HARRRP, said in HARRRP’s nomination.
“He has a great attitude about life, is very kind, giving and generous. He is involved in many different extracurricular activities, including being a part of his high school basketball team. Abdifatah is always finding ways to give back to his Hamilton community and it is youth like him that help make the world become a better place to live in.”
Abdifatah is now in Grade 11 at Orchard Park secondary and his principal Dawn Merlino attended the awards luncheon to pass on her congratulations. When it came time for his award, Abdifatah wanted to choose just the right words to capture his thoughts about what it means to him.
“Look to change the future by starting with the young ones,” he said “because they are the future they are OUR future.”
Updated on Wednesday, November 30, 2016.