It was an evening rich in Somali culture, standardized by a spoken word poetry by the passionate 14 years old Yusra Ali, spiced by surprising touristic tour of Somalia, excited by a glamorous fashion show, enhanced by rich Somali cultural performances, and climaxed by explosive political speeches – The 4th Annual Somali Cultural Gala.
On November 24, 2018, at the beautiful Oasis Centre, the Somali Canadian Women and Children Association (SCWCA) proudly presented its 4th Annual Somali Cultural Gala. The Facebook invitation reads, “The Cultural Gala is an opportunity to take pleasure in the delightful facets of Somali culture”. Along with a traditional full course dinner there was a fashion show, cultural dance, singers, and Somali poetry.
Yusra Ali got a standing ovation for her insightful spoken word poetry on the challenges of being a Somali mum, and a refugee, which was the reference for almost every speaker of the evening.
A bearded version of Mayor Don Iveson gave a rich speech, which started with some inconvenient truth of Somalis being the most discriminated group, second only to the indigenous community. He did a good job of connecting the theme of the event to the exciting spoken word poetry of Yusra Ali, recognizing prominent Somalis in the hall, and relating to the policies of the City of Edmonton, a rare inspiring speech from someone from City Hall. A rallying call for Somali representation in politics, he dared to make. He acknowledged the presence of the first Somali-Canadian Edmonton Police Officer, Constable Abdirahman (Abe) Kulmiye, who only took his oath of service the day before.
Sahra Aden, the Executive Director, shared the successes of the SCWCA from supporting women and children with integration into Canadian society, to economic empowerment through small business training. Sahra characteristically humbly shy away from sharing the reception of SCWCA of the RISE Award 2018. Well. that did not stop the other Sahra from sharing her excitement of the gala with Diversity Magazine, “I’m happy for the turnout. it’s a very successful event. I’m happy Somalis turnout,” Sahra Kaahiye, President of SCWCA.
