Bernie looked after our 50/50 draw; Moe had the winning ticket and his draw was fit for a King, alas a Joker would have been a better fit. Pot sits at $160.

 

 

Rosemary collected our happy bucks... and she hasn't been seen since.

 

 

Sgt. Mahamud Elmi

 

Moe has spoken to us before about the Somali Hope Foundation and its remarkable achievements of a school in Bursalah, Somalia. Today he told us of his upbringing in Somalia, his journey to avoid war, and his emigration to Canada.

 

Mahamud was born in rural Somalia, the eldest of 10 children. His parents couldn't feed the entire family, and his mother felt that Moe, with his observant, affable and self-reliant nature, was the best candidate to be sent to live with his grandparents when he was 5 and then to his aunt's in Mogadishu for schooling. Soon after arriving, the war forced his aunt's family, with Moe, out with no more than the shirts on their backs.

 

They traveled to the Kenya border and spent years in the refuge camp n Dabdab. His aunt's family were sponsored y family in Montreal, leaving Moe on his own in Dadaab. His aunt immediately started the process of adoption and sponsoring Moe to bring hom to Canada as quickly as possible.

 

Moe came to Canada in 1996, as a teeenager with no formal educatin. However, his determination and hard work helped him to graduate from high school here in Ottawa at the same time as his cohorts. He went on to study Police Foundations at St. Lawrence College, and started with the Ottawa police as a student.

 

A truly remarkable and inspiring story from an impressive individual and much appreciated RCOS member.

 

President-elect Sam ended the meeting promptly at 1:30pm

 

Sgt. Mahamud Elemi