Press

  • Youth Leaders of the Year – Ka Joog Nonprofit: At Breakfast with Minneapolis City Council Member Gary Schiff on January 27th, the Ninth Award were handed out. The Youth Leaders of the Year award went to Ka Joog Nonprofit Organization. This past year, when Somalia was hit by the most severe famine on Earth since 1984, members of Ka Joog, a youth focused non-profit, stepped up to help. In August, Abdifatah Farah, one of the founders of the organization, traveled to Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world, located in northernKenya. Abdifatah had lived here for five years before coming to the United States, and was returning to record the stories of Somali refugees suffering from the devastating famine that killed thousands of children. He went believing in the power of their voices to bring change. “You look at the media and you just see statistics,” the 24-year-old Farah said. “A lot of these people’s voices are taken away because of the issues they are going through. … We want them to be heard.”
  • MPR NEWS: Years after Somali men left MN, youth decry extremism. St. Paul,Minn. — Every day, gaggles of Somali men gather at the Starbucks coffee shop onRiverside Avenue inMinneapolis to argue about the politics of their homeland. Their heated discussions take place so frequently that many in the Somali community refer to them as “Starbucks dads.” “They literally sit out on this patio all day, and all night,” said Abdul Mohamed, 21, who often walks by the men on his way to class atAugsburgCollege. Ordinarily, Mohamed passes them without saying a word. But a couple of months ago, he decided to approach them to drop off fliers for a panel discussion. Its topic: why some young men in the community had been recruited to fight inSomalia. “One of the individuals we handed it to look at it and just threw it back right at our face, and said, ‘I’m not going to come to this. What is this about?’ “Mohamed said.”He didn’t understand it right off the bat, but what’s even worse is he didn’t try to understand it.”
  • IBNN NEWS, October 21, 2011: Minnesota’s largest Somali Youth Non-Profit sets mission to address famine in Somalia. “The sleeping giant has awaken and Ka Joog has positioned themselves as one of the largest Somali non-profits in Minnesota as well as the United States.” Ka Joog began with a vision, a dream, and lots of ”what-ifs.” Their intention is to provide meaningful activities for Somali youth inMinnesota in order to build a strong support network for their future. Ka Joog would like to educate our little brothers and sisters—and our peers—to inspire them to pursue higher education, and to let them know that their community is here for them. Ka Joog is proud to say that they are continually planning and finding new ways to work with our community, motivate the adults and young adults to vote and to participate in other civil aspects in our society.
  • Twin City Daily Planet, Sep 19, 1011:Radical Mind Youth Conference. On September 19, the Cedar Cultural Center hosted the Radical Minds Youth Conference, a conference that addressed issues facing Somali youths. A non-profit organization that works with Somali youth called Ka Joogput on the conference. Abdul Mohamed, the head of public relations for Ka Joog, said,“This event aims to bring together the youth of the community to discuss issues of radicalization and violence, and how they relate to the community.”
  • Star Tribune, Aug 24, 1011: Minnesota Somali Man to Record Stories at Refugee Camp. A Minnesota artist who fled Somalia as a child is returning to the refugee camp where he lived for five years to record the stories of those suffering from a devastating famine that has killed tens of thousands of children. Read more at the Star Tribune link above.
  • CBS Minnesota, Aug 24, 2011: Minnesota Somali Man to Record Stories at Refugee Camp.
    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A young spoken word artist who fled Somalia as a child is returning to a refugee camp where he lived for five years to record the stories of those suffering from a devastating famine. Read more at the CBS Minnesota link above.
  • March 25, 2011: Ka Joog is featured in MQM, Mashriq Quarterly Magazine. Great pictures! http://mashriqq.com/?p=1862