CommonBond Communities Resident and Hero: Ahmed's Story
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The City of St. Paul honored Ahmed for an act of heroism performed in 2008, when he noticed a child in his neighborhood being harassed by much older boys. The boys departed when Ahmed confronted them, but returned with baseball bats. The bruises he received were later recognized by Police Chief John Harrington as proof of his personal courage and compassion. |
17-year-old Ahmed and his mentor, Jonathan, throw sidelong grins at one another when asked what they’ve learned in the last two years as Study Buddies. Jonathan has been spending an hour a week since 2008 with Ahmed at CommonBond’s Westminster Place Advantage Center, offering homework help, academic encouragement, and support in his personal growth. The bond that’s grown between them is evident in the comfortable ease with which they tease each other, but Ahmed turns serious when summing up his time with Jonathan at the Advantage Center: “It taught me to look at the world in a different way.”
Ahmed has lived with his mother and younger brother Liban at this St. Paul community for the past seven years. Originally from Somalia, his parents fled to Kenya where Ahmed was born before moving on to Minnesota when he was seven.
A challenging time in the life of any child, Ahmed’s middle school years proved difficult. Although a majority of the residents of Westminster Place are East African, Ahmed was a minority in his new St. Paul school. The pressure to assimilate was intense for a young boy already struggling to understand his identity. “I made myself fit in because I had to,” Ahmed remembers, noting how he adopted one culture at school and went home to something very different. “In Americanizing, I also felt like a traitor.”
These days, Ahmed is proud of his African heritage. Jonathan and CommonBond Advantage Center staff marvel at his newfound confidence and the ways in which he’s matured into a leader for other kids at Westminster Place. His experience growing up as a Somali and the support he received from CommonBond has inspired him to reach out to younger kids, and this summer he will participate as a teen leader in CommonBond’s Youth Job Corp.
Young leaders like Ahmed who are East African and from the local community have a special influence on the youth of Westminster Place. While other mentors and volunteers have a huge impact on kids, Advantage Center staff observe, the resident children especially relate to leaders like Ahmed and are able to imagine themselves in his shoes—from demonstrating kindness to going to college.
Ahmed will finish high school next year, and says if he could do anything he would visit Kenya in order to better understand the culture from which he came. He hopes to make documentaries one day, focusing on projects that highlight the cultural transitions that kids like him must navigate, and how to reconcile different worlds in ways that are fruitful for the entire community.
This March, he got a first taste of the rewards of giving back. The City of St. Paul honored Ahmed for an act of heroism performed in 2008, when he noticed a child in his neighborhood being harassed by much older boys. The boys departed when Ahmed confronted them, but returned with baseball bats. The bruises he survived were later recognized by Police Chief John Harrington as proof of his personal courage and compassion.
Although Ahmed grins and blushes at Jonathan’s jokes about the award giving him a big head, his expression is frank when relaying the story. “It’s just about values,” he finally shrugs. “Everybody should do what they have to do.” “He still cheats at cards,” Jonathan adds with a chuckle, shooting a look at his friend, who giggles and shakes his head. “But we can work on that.”
Read the next Resident Voice - From Homelessness to Health - Peggy's Story.
Learn more about Westminster Place, the affordable housing community that Ahmed calls home.
