Sunday May 5, 2019
WASHINGTON DC - 57 individuals and organizations were recognized on Friday during a ceremony at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where the Director’s Community Leadership Awards (DCLA) were presented to honor those who are meeting a need, answering a call to serve, and working to make communities safer and stronger.
"You’ve identified some of the toughest problems that are out there," FBI Director Christopher Wray told the awardees, who gathered with friends, coworkers, and family to be honored by the FBI community. "And you haven’t waited for someone else to fix them."
In the Boston area, Deeqo Jibril also didn’t hesitate to step up and step outside the roles traditional to Somali women to help her neighbors. Jibril created the Somali Community and Cultural Association to encircle new Somali immigrants with programs that support both community integration and cultural preservation. "There were no organizations in Boston that could help Somali women and children navigate the systems," said Jibril. The association helps families find housing and work and enroll children in school while keeping up cultural connections and traditions.
To help foster trust and build connections among the Somali community in Boston and law enforcement, Jibril invited more than 100 people, including many agents from the FBI Boston Field Office, to Eid al-Fitr, the feast that marks the end of Ramadan. Jibril says the 2016 celebration helped connect the two groups: "Our community needed to know they are there to protect us, and they need to know we are good people."
"You’re out in our neighborhoods," said Wray. "You see what’s happening in our communities every day. And you’re taking action to make it better."
"The Boston Division honors Deeqo Jibril, a local activist and advocate for immigrant women and children. Jibril was born in Somalia and relocated to Boston when she was 12. She founded the Somali Community and Cultural Association, whose mission is to integrate the Somali community into American life while maintaining its culture, faith, and values. Jibril exemplifies a new generation of African women," the citation said..