Happy 2018! Already, a politically wild and frigidly cold start to this New Year. Tune in for two incredible heart-warming stories to inspire you toward action. We ended last year with Part I of Carolyn Porter’s unlikely journey into becoming an author of a memoir, Marcel’s Letters: A Font And the Search For One Man’s Fate. Part II of her journey will be aired soon. Download

Today we have the beginnings of Fatoun Ali’s miraculous life journey that began in Somalia. We talk about our WORD for 2018. Mickey Mikeworth joins us (her prior episodes are listed in the Mentoring Resources below). Mickey and Fatoun have been friends for 12-years. Their connection is deep and powerful. I felt the courageous energy during our mentoring conversation.

They are an example of the revolutionary impact peer mentoring can have in your life. By Mickey helping Fatoun acclimate to Minnesota and mentoring her in financial prosperity; Fatoun enriches Mickey’s life through sharing an empowering soulful journaling exercise and so many other of her life experiences that make them both better people. Doing your lifework brings everyone up. 

Fatoun Ali. Fatoun Ali landed on American soil in 1998. When she arrived in San Diego, she was married, had no education, and was pregnant with a child who died at 4 months from muscular dystrophy. Not long after that she had a second child whom died from the same disease at 6 months. Even with these challenges, she had a strong desire to create a better life for her and her family, and devoted her work after the death of her children to caring for immigrant families. SOMFAM

Here are a few of Fatoun’s many accomplishments:

• Learned Basic English through an ESL program,
• Acquired certificates as a medical assistant and as a teacher of self-breast examinations for Somali women,
• Became an “adopted” daughter of a long-time restaurateur and caterer – a Somali/Ethiopian immigrant woman. This developed into a friendship and an informal mentoring program where Fatoun learned the ins and outs of operating a business – the upside and the downside. She learned about nutrition, organic food, and what it takes to be successful in the restaurant and catering businesses – including how to make great food quickly. It is this experience that provides some of the roots for some SOMFAM programs,
• Worked in a medical clinic before landing a job as a refugee resettlement case worker for the Alliance for African Assistance, where she worked until moving to Minnesota in 2006 with two children,
• Earned an Associate of Arts degree in Business Management. She did this with her husband while working and raising their four children.
• Pursuing a 4-year degree at Metropolitan State University, now a mother of four children,
• Founded what could be considered the nonprofit “parent” to the Somali Youth and Family Development Center (SOMFAM): The Somali Minority Rights and Aid Forum (SOMRAF). Now called, SOMFAM, and
• She believes that a strong Somali community in Minnesota will come about through strong and empowered Somali families. Her mission is to empower, educate and inform the women, youth and men that have built this community of over 100,000 strong.

Mentoring Tips

Answer the following questions after you listen:

• Figure out your WORD for 2018.
• Write down the answer to Mickey’s Rich Chicks Fast Five exercise we discussed on air.
  o Five Key Goals
  o Five People to Get Closer To
  o Five New Skills to Learn
  o Five Problems to Resolve
  o Five Fabulous Adventures
  o Five Things to Let Go Of

Mike Kabeya’s Story of Immigrating to the United States

• Mike Kabeya’s Journey Into Entrepreneurship
• Sylvie Kabeya’s Journey With Mike Into Entrepreneurship

What Is Your WORD for 2018? Episode 105    Mickey Mikeworth Consulting   Fatoun Ali’s SOMFAM