Petals of red, pink and purple bloomed in vases set up across tables in the Salt Lake County Building Atrium on Saturday.
Women and children from nations around the globe sat at those tables, pulling the vases close to smell the vibrant blossoms. One mother leaned her vase over to her daughter, so she could smell them as well, chiding her not to move them from the vase with a smile.
Women of the World, a Utah-based organization that empowers forcibly displaced women, honored these mothers during its Saturday celebration — where one woman took home the honor of Mother of the Year.
Samira Harnish, founder of the organization, plans the event because many women don’t celebrate it in their home countries. She originally moved to Utah from Iraq to study engineering, and started Women of the World in 2009 to help more women achieve self-sufficiency.
“We all, as a mother, we love our kids unconditionally,” Harnish said. “[These women] went to the end of the earth just to give them a better life and a better opportunity.”
Fahmo Abdullahi was named the organization’s Mother of the Year. She moved to Salt Lake City from Somalia with her young daughter five years ago, and when she first came to Harnish’s office, she didn’t know any English.
But she knew she would do whatever it took to learn.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Fahmo Hamadi Abdullahi was named the Women of the World's 2022 Mother of the Year. Women of the World celebrates the traditions, food and stories of refugee mothers in a special Mother's Day event, Saturday, May 7, 2022.
She had to wrangle public transportation first, which was a challenge with the language barrier — and with her busy schedule. Abdullahi usually visited Women of the World’s office in the morning, went to work, and then took English classes at night before returning home.
“It’s difficult if you do not have a friend, do not understand [there is] any office to answer your questions — it’s a problem in Utah and a problem in America,” Abdullahi said. “You need to make more friends, because if you have more friends, your friends will help you with any problem you have.”
A friend is how Abdullahi got connected with Women of the World. The organization helped her understand the different steps of Utah’s transit system, and also helped her to learn English and how to drive.
“She said, ‘I want to learn English, I want to learn the citizenship, I want to be an American citizen,’” Harnish said, recounting Abdullahi’s first visit. “That’s what makes me so happy — that she’s always been determined.”
Harnish hopes more Utahns can be a friend to new neighbors like Abdullahi, whether they’re coming from Somalia, Afghanistan, Ukraine or any other nation. And at the end of the event, Harnish welcomed the women and their children to take the flowers many had been eying throughout the ceremony.
“It’s Mother’s Day today — you can eat anything you need, you can make her happy,” Abdullahi said, grinning to her daughter.
“Next year, it’s baby’s Mother’s Day. Baby’s Mother’s Day, I’ll go to school for you,” she joked.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Fahmo Hamadi Abdullahi, with her daughter Zainabu Hassan, 10, was named the Women of the World's 2022 Mother of the Year. Women of the World celebrates the traditions, food and stories of refugee mothers in a special Mother's Day event, Saturday, May 7, 2022.
