Awake in Mogadishu
You can find remarkable people in every corner of this planet. Many of these people have something in common. There is a spirituality about them. They seem to be motivated by the call of something greater. They seem to live their lives in the context of a bigger story. A story that precedes them, and will go on after them. They are on a path of awakening to wisdom.
I met Khadra Ali in 2014. I’ve always been struck by the light that radiates from her face. I have also been intrigued by how she keeps traditional, religious, ways of Islam and remains so open to so much that fits outside of her tradition.
I have to brag and say that Khadra was part of the original, FIRST, cohort of the Evolutionary Leadership Workshop. It is an honor and a blessing to count her among our accomplished alumni.
Khadra is doing amazing things. She works with the Youth and Innovation Team at the United Nations Population Fund, and she is based in Mogadishu. She is also dreaming up an organization called “Toos,” which means: Wake Up!
Khadra is part of the passionate generation of migrants, who came West as children and returned to their homelands as adults. They share the privileges they’ve been afforded just by living in the rich world.
Khadra shares the story of leaving her motherland, and of the advice her grandmother gave her: stay true to your religion. It is a powerful charge from one's elder. And Khadra has stayed true to her grandmother’s direction. While also finding ways to dive beneath what is traditional. Her authentic relationship with God keeps her tracking for the pathways to awakening.
Religions of each and every ilk have managed to corrupt themselves into systems of myopia, self-righteousness, and oppression. But they still come from wisdom traditions.
You can find wisdom in ancient stories. You can find healing in time-tested practices. In prayer, contemplation, meditation, acts of collective worship, and adoration. These are patterns that we find through traditions that have stood the test of time.
Getting wise is not an option. It is a necessity. It is how we become good ancestors. It is how we learn to contend with life itself. It feels to me that this is what Khadra is aiming for.
Get to know her. She is a soul worth knowing. Get a sense of her light.
Bio
Khadra Ali is a Youth Officer from Somalia and Canada. She joined UNFPA in 2021 as the Youth Fund Portfolio Manager supporting the development of over 250 startups in Somalia through the Dalbile Project and has been able to combine her passion to support youth/women, economic empowerment through entrepreneurship and ecosystem building.
Prior to joining UNFPA, Khadra was the Organizational Development Manager for Shaqodoon Organization, Founding Hub Manager of Harhub and founder of Digital Hargeisa, all entrepreneurship and youth support organizations in Somalia. In Canada, Khadra was the founder and executive Director of a youth organization called Gashanti Unity dedicated to the empowerment of young Somali women.
Khadra holds a BA in Sociology and is currently a MBA Candidate specializing in Innovation, Leadership and Consulting.