The goal is to provide services and support to Somalis in the United States and abroad through partnership and collaboration with NGO, administrations or governments where it is necessary. Our goal is to enhance the overall welfare of the Somali community in the United States and abroad. Such overall enhancements may include, but are not limited to, the promotion of clean water, education, health care, infrastructure, community relations and empowerment via networking, social gatherings, workshops and conferences.

Thus far, we have been able to raise funds for Mogadishu University, sponsoring three young ladies to attend Mogadishu University for one year, started a primary school, held community gatherings, co-founded and sponsored Somali youth entity and conference, and took part in the humanitarian effort in 2011 where Adar Foundation provided food aid in South Central Somalia.

Considering the human catastrophe and brain-drain resulting from the civil war and the at-risk that universally hovers over the youth wherever they are, we concluded that something must be done in order to cultivate productive youth who could rise above the clan mentality that destroyed our nation and the self-destructive temptations and luxuries of their second homes.

Our main objective was to help cultivate youth with balanced dual cultures and identities who could be productive wherever they are. Though we had some from UK, most of the youth who attended our conferences were either Somali-Americans & Somali-Canadians.

As in all important works, it has not been easy. Our youth had their share of challenges as a result of the negativities that often reek from the grownups. And since our conferences were both to cultivate leadership potential and skills, bridge intergenerational gaps, and reconcile their dual identities, we would normally address all sensitive issues that could better inform and enlighten participants.

The community gatherings, dinners and picnics have been helpful and they have become something that the families look forward to.

Gauging from the feedback that we receive from the youth participants, older participants, those who watch our conferences in real time via Livestream and those who come across our library of videos, results have mostly been positive. That does not mean we have or can satisfy every one’s expectations all the time. We just have not had any negative feedback other than minor logistical issues in the earlier years. These youth conferences were held in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Ohio.

We have noticed that they are more interested in the community issues and in volunteering and initiating service programs both in the US and in Somalia. Since we started, we noticed a lot more cooperation and collaboration between youth groups. Some of the youth have started their own outreach and grassroots movements such as improving education in Somalia or establishing orphanage centers.

We have given some thoughts to that but ultimately decided to refrain from duplicating what our community organizations were already doing. We wanted to focus on specific areas and an approach that would keep us from the blame of ‘you invited this…and not that”. We are a 501(c) (3) organization which means we do not have the freedom to only invite officials who we like.

I like our sense of community approach to prevention and empowerment. That is to say, we are intergenerational, inter-clan, and international.

The idea is for the community members to help themselves, for the youth to get more involved in what's important in their community, help them avoid violence, and galvanize them to share their experiences and mentor one another.