Concerned Mothers

Navigating The System

We strive to ensure that black and Muslim youth receive equal and fair treatment in public institutions and throughout society.

Our Work

Business-as-usual is no longer an option. The future of our children is at stake.

We are facing a breakdown of critical systems on multiple fronts — the pandemic, climate change, and rising hunger. Each of these challenges is tied to fragile food systems that degrade the environment and undermine public health. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Learn about our approach

Transforming Lives

Our mission is to support vulnerable youth and their families as they navigate the education and the criminal justice systems. Our ultimate aim is to keep vulnerable youth where they belong, in schools, and prevent them from falling through the cracks and winding up in prison.

Learn about us

Multisectoral Outreach

The CSMA engages in extensive outreach activities with a goal to understanding the workings of the Ontario education system and the criminal justice system, and how racialized children, youth and parents interact with these two sets of institutions.

The CSMA advocacy efforts in this sector were prompted by anecdotal observations and media reports of increase in the number of young Somali males coming into contact with the criminal justice system. Through multi-pronged efforts, the CSMA achieved significant milestones.

Learn more

Our Partners

Sign up to stay connected

Kalthum Dirir is a spiritual counselor and an active member of the Canadian Somali Mothers Association. She is a lecturer, family, and community builder committed to community advocacy and enhancing the skills and capacities of low-income families, particularly single mothers, to enable them to support their children’s education and well-being. Kalthum has extensive experience in supporting marginalized families. She has created meeting spaces where mothers come together and share resources, contributing to the betterment of the Ottawa-South community. She also has extensive knowledge and connection to Ottawa services that support families and has successfully linked families to existing resources in Ottawa. She is a highly respected leader in the community and supports both Francophone and Anglophone speaking families.

Amina Abdiqadir Ega is the founder and head instructor of the Al-Fitrah Learning Centre in Ottawa. She has worked as an interpreter supporting the Somali and Swahili-speaking communities for nine years. For over 20 years, Amina served as a teacher, mentor, and a guide for children and youth of all ages. She was a teacher and Vice-Principle of the Ottawa Islamic School for a decade. Amina has been a member of a grassroots family hub and women's committee in her neighborhood for many years, supporting families dealing with child welfare issues and building family resilience and networks. Amina is a big believer that creating change in our communities must begin by growth and improvement on the interpersonal level and expand outwards to our families, communities, and beyond.

Amina is a life coach, a mother, grandmother, educator, and an active member of the Canadian Somali Mothers Association. Amina is Fluent in English, Swahili, and Somali.

Hawa Mohamed is a founding member and the coordinator of the CSMA. Using her lived experience and passion for building strong and healthy communities, Hawa has, over the years, dedicated her time to advocating for marginalized youth who are in trouble with the law and their families. Hawa seeks to bring attention to the connection between poverty, school dropout, and youth violence. Rallying the community, Hawa has created platforms to discuss these issues and find creative solutions. Leading a significant number of women volunteers, Hawa and her team met with politicians at both the federal, provincial and municipal levels to bring forward ideas for addressing challenges that low-income families face. She has created a lasting partnership with organizations, and her work is recognized in Ottawa and beyond, and she is frequently requested to share the CSMA work.

Hawa has been recognized for her commitments with several awards, such as the Heroes Among Us award by Immigrant Women’s Services Ottawa) and the Leading Woman of the Year (2016) by the National Council of Canadian Muslims and several awards that the CSMA garnered. Hawa is a long-serving Healthcare Support Worker, a mother, and grandmother. Hawa speaks English, French, Somali, and Arabic.