Ekhlas Ahmed arrived in Maine in 2005 at the age of twelve. Her family came from Darfur, Sudan. She tells the story of her first day on the school bus in Maine and how she vowed after that to never be voiceless again. Ekhlas attended King Middle School, Casco Bay High School and the University of Southern Maine. Now she works for AmeriCorps and teaches English to immigrant students back at her alma mater. She also leads the Make it Happen program there, which helps immigrant students through the college application process.
Ekhlas offers an alternative view of Darfur aside from the war there, sharing her impressions of the beauty, people's warmth and acceptance. While visiting relatives in Sudan she became inspired to raise funds to help complete the building of a local school. She is selling calendars to help raise the needed $5,000.
As founding member, Ekhlas explains that Darfur Youth of Tomorrow is a small organization in Portland, ME for survivors of genocide. It is a young women's peer support circle.
Ekhlas recites "How Could We Forget You?" in Arabic. It is a poem she wrote for her extended family which will be included in a book called The Bridge Between which she continues to write.
Music: Sudanese vocalist Hissan Asidge sings "In the Diaspora."
*On Feb 16th Ekhlas was flown out to be on Ellen. They are going to sell her calendars in the online store.
Ekhlas offers an alternative view of Darfur aside from the war there, sharing her impressions of the beauty, people's warmth and acceptance. While visiting relatives in Sudan she became inspired to raise funds to help complete the building of a local school. She is selling calendars to help raise the needed $5,000.
As founding member, Ekhlas explains that Darfur Youth of Tomorrow is a small organization in Portland, ME for survivors of genocide. It is a young women's peer support circle.
Ekhlas recites "How Could We Forget You?" in Arabic. It is a poem she wrote for her extended family which will be included in a book called The Bridge Between which she continues to write.
Music: Sudanese vocalist Hissan Asidge sings "In the Diaspora."
*On Feb 16th Ekhlas was flown out to be on Ellen. They are going to sell her calendars in the online store.
| nms_129_b_ekhlas_ahmed_sudan_feb_5_2017.mp3 |
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