ALBANY , October 26, 2007 — Two recent immigrants from Somalia who now live in Rochester were cited Thursday for their courageous service by a family-planning advocacy group.

Khadija Abuka, 38, and Sadiya Omar, 40, received their awards from Family Planning Advocates of New York at a ceremony near the Capitol for their work in providing health care resources and services for Somali refugees living in the Rochester area.

JoAnn Smith, president of Family Planning Advocates, said Abuka and Omar received the awards because they overcame their own problems and helped other refugees, while also helping Family Planning Advocates improve the cultural literacy of their service centers.

Abuka, who immigrated in 1996, and Omar, who arrived in 1999, founded the Somali Bantu Community Association of Western New York to instruct refugees on how to find health and reproductive care for themselves as well as care for newborn children.

Isse Abuka, Khadija's husband and president of the association, said they also help refugees with landlord/tenant disputes, schooling and tutoring and other outreach programs.

Grace Mose of Family Planning Advocates, a native of Kenya, said when Abuka and Omar first came to the United States, they had to overcome cultural and linguistic barriers. Mose said they were so successful at adapting to their new home, "They are now advocates for women who have lots of barriers."

Abuka and Omar have worked in the Rochester refugee community to ease apprehension between refugees and health care providers, instructed women how to seek out health care and are now instructing doctors on Somali cultural differences, Mose said. They also act as translators, she said.

Mose said many Somali women taking refuge in the United States were initially apprehensive of male doctors.

Mose said there is a large social distance between men and women in Somali culture, and seeing a male doctor would have been unheard of in their home country.

dosburn@nycap.rr.com

Source: The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle