 | |
| Formation | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Type | Humanitarian |
| Headquarters | Alberta, Canada |
The Global Enrichment Foundation (GEF) is a humanitarian organization. Founded by Amanda Lindhout in May 2010, it is dedicated to empowering women in developing and conflict-ridden countries. [1]
In 2010, Lindhout founded the Global Enrichment Foundation to create more opportunities in Somalia by offering university scholarships to women. Lindhout currently serves as the organization's Executive Director, with Ahmed Hussen, the president of the Canadian Somali Congress, acting as the foundation's co-director. [2] Aurala Warsame, a Somali researcher at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, supervises the program and vetted the first applicants. [1]
In response to why she established the Foundation Lindhout told the CBC's The National "You can very easily go into anger and bitterness and revenge thoughts and resentment and 'Why me?'[...] Because I had something very, very large and very painful to forgive, and by choosing to do that, I was able to put into place my vision, which was making Somalia a better place[...] I've never questioned whether or not it was the right thing to do[...] What else to do after the experience that I had, than something like this?" [1]
In conjunction with various private university institutions across Somalia, the GEF's Somali Women's Scholarship Program (SWSP) offers higher education opportunities to women in Somalia on a contribution basis. [3] Lindhout's foundation aims to annually send 100 women in the country to university for the next four years, [2] and is sponsoring tertiary education for 36 women who are expected to go on to become teachers, doctors, environmentalists and engineers, among other professions. The GEF also started the SHE WILL micro-loan initiative to financially empower widows and other Somali women. [4]
In response to the 2011 Eastern Africa drought, the GEF put into motion its Convoy for Hope program. [5] The initiative received a US$1 million donation from the Chobani Yoghurt company. [6] As part of the GEF, teachers with the Memorial Composite also raised funds to sponsor the Sankaroos women's basketball team of Abaarso School in Somalia, [4] [7] and a group of high school students in Alberta raised over $23,000 to support the GEF's educational work. [8]
Rania Al-Abdullah is Queen of Jordan as the wife of King Abdullah II.
St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada.
The First Nations University of Canada is a post-secondary institution and federated college of the University of Regina, based in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. FNUniv operates three campuses within the province, in Prince Albert, Regina, and Saskatoon. The university offers academic programs in business, the humanities, social sciences, and sciences; including a number of programs focused around aboriginal practices.
Lethbridge Collegiate Institute (LCI) is a public high school in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, operated by Lethbridge School District No. 51 that serves grades nine through twelve. LCI was the first school in Lethbridge designated only for secondary students. It opened at its current location in 1950, but was founded in a smaller, adjacent building in 1928. Since its 1950 opening, several additions and layout changes have been made at the school. In August 2010, Chinook High School opened in West Lethbridge with over 700 students enrolled. Those that entered grade 11 in 2009 at LCI were permitted to complete their graduating year at LCI, but west Lethbridge students are now encouraged to attend the new high school, which was being built in conjunction with a western campus of Catholic Central High School, recreational facilities, and a public library.
Allan P. Markin, OC, AOE was the chairman of Canadian Natural Resources Limited and is a co-owner of the Calgary Flames ice hockey franchise of the National Hockey League based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Hebrew College is a private college of Jewish studies in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Founded in 1921, Hebrew College is committed to Jewish scholarship in a pluralistic, trans-denominational academic environment. The president of the college is Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld. Hebrew College offers undergraduate completion and graduate degrees, Hebrew-language training, a rabbinical school, a cantorial program and adult-learning and youth-education programs.
The Institute for Citizens & Scholars is a nonpartisan, non-profit based in Princeton, New Jersey that aims to strengthen American democracy by “cultivating the talent, ideas, and networks that develop lifelong, effective citizens.” It administers programs that support civic education and engagement, leadership development, and organizational capacity in education and democracy.
James Gurnett is a former politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1985 until 1986. He is currently the principal of Common Place Services, doing a variety of consulting work, primarily with NGOs.
Adrian Anantawan is a Canadian violinist. Anantawan, who began studying violin at age nine, has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and at the White House. He is an alumnus of the Etobicoke School of the Arts in Canada, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Yale University and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Growing up in the neighbourhood of Clarkson, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, he attended St. Christopher's Elementary School, and is a member of the St. Christopher's Church Parish. He is currently a member of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation and is the Chair of Music at Milton Academy and Artistic Director of Shelter Music Boston.
MFI Foundation Inc. is a non-stock, non-profit science foundation based in Pasig, Metro Manila, Philippines.
The following is a list of known foreign hostages captured in Somalia, particularly since the start of the Ethiopian intervention and the 2009–present phase of the civil war.
Amanda Lindhout is a Canadian humanitarian, public speaker and journalist. On August 23, 2008, she and members of her entourage were kidnapped by Islamist insurgents in southern Somalia. She was released 15 months later on November 25, 2009, and has since embarked on a philanthropic career. In 2013, she released the book, A House in the Sky: A Memoir, in which she recounts her early life, travels as a young adult, and hostage experience. In 2014, the book was optioned to become a major motion picture by Megan Ellison, with Rooney Mara playing the role of Lindhout.
Aditya Jha is an Indian-Canadian entrepreneur, philanthropist and social activist. A globetrotter, his business portfolio consists of several startups and company turnarounds with interests in Canada, India, Thailand and Nepal. He also runs several philanthropic initiatives through his Private Charitable Foundation, promoting education and nurturing entrepreneurship to increase opportunities for the less fortunate. Jha takes special interest in nurturing prosperity and financial independence amongst Canadian First Nations (aboriginal) communities and individuals through education scholarships at top Canadian universities and a project that nurtures entrepreneurship. Jha is 2012 inductee to the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian award.
Nigel Brennan is an Australian photojournalist and author. In 2008, Islamist insurgents in southern Somalia kidnapped him and Canadian freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout. He was released 15 months later after a ransom payment was given to his captors. He then went on to write a memoir recounting his hostage experience. In 2013, Brennan competed in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, and spoke after the end of the Atlantic leg about his abduction and its psychological aftermath.
Mona Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports grassroots initiatives focused on education and raising the status of women and girls in the US and abroad. They believe that universal education and gender equity are the cornerstones of the eradication of poverty, disease, and conflict.
Hamdi Ulukaya is a Turkish billionaire businessman, activist, and philanthropist of Kurdish ethnicity based in the United States. Ulukaya is the owner, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Chobani, the #1-selling strained yogurt brand in the US. He established production facilities first in upstate New York, and since then has expanded. According to Forbes, his net worth as of October 2022 is US$2.1 billion. On 26 April 2016, Ulukaya announced to his employees that he would be giving them 10% of the shares in Chobani.
Ahmed Hussen is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has been serving as the minister of housing and diversity and inclusion since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, Hussen has also sat as the member of Parliament (MP) for the Toronto-area the riding of York South—Weston since the 2015 federal election. He previously served as the minister of families, children and social development from 2019 to 2021 and the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship from 2017 to 2019. He is the first Somali-Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons and the first to hold a federal Cabinet position.
Geetanjali Babbar is the founder and director of a non-profit named Kat-Katha that works to empower and liberate sex workers in brothels of the largest red light area known as G.B. Road of Delhi.
Rinelle Harper is a Canadian woman from the Garden Hill First Nation in Manitoba. In November 2014, after narrowly surviving a violent assault at the age of 16, Harper rose to prominence in national media as an advocate for victims of violence. She publicly called for a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada, addressing the Assembly of First Nations and speaking at the first Canadian conference on missing and murdered indigenous women.