In May, Deeqo Jibril, a board Member at the Volunteer Lawyers Project, was honored as a recipient of the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award . This award, presented by the FBI Director, recognizes community leaders for their impact in working with law enforcement to prevent local crime and build trust.
Born in Somalia, Ms. Jibril fled her home in 1991 during the country’s Civil War and came to Boston when she was 12 years old. As a Somali refugee in the United States, Deeqo often felt her culture was misrepresented, so she made it her mission to change these misconceptions. In 2014, Ms. Jibril founded the Somali Community and Cultural Association to help Somali families integrate with American society while maintaining their culture and values. Around the same time, she began working with the Boston Police Department and the FBI to build relations between law enforcement and Somalis in Greater Boston.
“In Somalia there’s no trust in government…one of the reasons I started getting involved was because some of our youth are struggling with an identity crisis. They are ending up in the (criminal) system and I wanted to educate them in public safety and the role of law enforcement. It takes a village to raise a child, so I wanted to advocate for those lost youth — to give them a second chance.”
We are incredibly proud of the meaningful work Ms. Jibril is leading to empower the Somali Community in Greater Boston through civic engagement!