In 2012 alone, more than 6.6 million children globally under the age of 5 died from preventable diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, HIV, and measles. 1.7 million children die annually because of Severe Acute Malnutrition and 3.6 million die because of Moderate Acute Malnutrition. To put it simply, they die because they don't have access to food. Globally, 67 million children do not have access to basic education. That means they will never graduate from grade 8 and go on to high school.

“I had been calling myself Muslim since 1968 because it was cool. You know, Malcolm X, Black awareness in the United States..”

Michelle Walrond's tale about being Muslim in a different era and place is part of this great-grandmother's remarkable life story.

It's a story that Walrond, aka Um Nur, was happy to share with library borrowers at the CBC's third annual Human Library, in partnership with the Ottawa Public Library on January 25, 2014.

When I tell my friends that I volunteer with the Ottawa Police Service they think it's awesome. Although many times I receive questions like, “Oh, you want to be a police officer?” or a “Do you get to use a gun?”

Here is what I actually do: I volunteer with the Ottawa Police Service's Youth Advisory Committee (YAC).  YAC hopes to become the liaison between the youth and the police, in the hope that this relationship will make Ottawa a safer place. YAC works to address the issues that youth are facing and to meet their needs. 

The Muslim Basketball Association of Ottawa (MBA-Ottawa) ended its season with a sold-out All-Star game at the Canadian Tire Centre with Team Arafat facing off against Team Baqi.  As an added bonus, those who attended the MBA-Ottawa game were also able to attend an Ottawa SkyHawks game. During the SkyHawks game, the MBA-Ottawa's Most Valuable Player (MVP), Ali Sow,  was congratulated during half-time in front of a crowd numbering over 2,000. The MBA All-Star game was also recorded by Rogers TV to be broadcast sometime in January.

Farhia Ahmed is a mother of four who runs her own career consulting business. But on and off since 2005, she has been the team lead for Reviving the Islamic Spirit's Media Team. Muslim Link had a chance to interview Farhia about her journey with RIS and the role the Media Team plays in trying to improve the image of Muslims in mainstream media.

Less than three weeks ago, the new School of Social Work at the University of Hargeisa in Somaliland opened its doors to 50 incoming students, including 25 young women.

During the fall of 2013, the Friends of the University of Hargeisa School of Social Work,a committee established to lay the foundation for the creation of the School of Social Work,collected 300 social work-related books to form the first library for the program.

On November 4th, Mohamed Islam, 31, was awarded with Crime Prevention Ottawa's 2013 Youth Worker Award in a ceremony at City Hall. Crime Prevention Ottawa (CPO) is an organization which aims to reduce crime and enhance community safety through collaborative evidence-based crime prevention strategies. Mohamed Islam is a Youth Worker with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa and is the coordinator of the Somali Youth Support Project, a program run out of the Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre.

The Izzah Learning Center's mission is to support women in the study of Tilawatul (Recitation) and Hifdhul (Memorization) of the Qur'an.

The center was founded by Fatima Abdi, who is finishing up a Master's of Education at the University of Ottawa with a specialization in teaching, learning and evaluation along with Aqbal Ahmed, an experienced Arabic teacher.

Members of the Somali community, and many supporters, came out to raise money for deserving community projects in late May.

The Somali Youth Support Project (SYSP), a community driven initiative operating out of Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre, held its 8th Annual Fundraiser to raise money for a project of their choosing.

This year, funds were raised for the Somali-Canadian Youth Mentorship Program and a youth-led project in one of the West-End Ottawa Community Housing neighbourhoods.

For the second year in a row, a Muslim woman has been awarded a special scholarship from the Ottawa Police Service in order to pursue a career in policing.

Urge Ibrahim was presented with the Thomas G. Flanagan S.C. Scholarship by Chief Charles Bordeleau at the Ottawa Police Service's annual Community/Police Awards on June 18.