Balqisa Belki Abdi

"I want to push young people to do their best"

- Many of the young people I work with don't really believe in themselves. They come from a vulnerable area and feel that they cannot really cope with things. My driving force is that I want to give them the chance to do what they want. And if I’m active in a lot of different places, I push the children and young people to become more active themselves. Working with them is the most rewarding thing I can think of. I love it! It's the whole world to me.

- My parents always pushed me to try everything: associations, activities, and different sports. And I want all young people to be able to do that: try things in life. Today, I see it as a mission to engage young people. I try to take them to different activities and support them 24/7. There are so many benefits. You form a community with others, get moving, meet new people, and experience lots of things you would not have if you just sat at home.

- I have always been involved in associations, ever since I was little. When I was 15, I started as a basketball coach and since then it has been a big thing for me. I am also a member of the Association Rosengårds Folkets Hus and in Somali Peace (Somaliska Freds), where we run a girls group. We are activity leaders, homework helpers, and have a lot of other roles in the association.

- I have always been curious about myself and never been afraid to take the initiative and get involved. I’ve had many great mentors when I myself was younger, people I looked up to and were my role models.

- My friend Amina and I started a youth association called Young Ways. We provide homework help, organise different activities, and collaborate with lots of others. We saw the need for an association that’s for young people and that’s also run by people who are young themselves. We knew that there are so many people who complain that young people have nothing to do, but no one did anything about it. So we did something.

- Most sports associations here in Rosengård are primarily aimed at boys and men. We girls have to demand recognition to play and basketball is one example of that. It worked right away. Basketball is a sport that’s great for getting the girls engaged. We’ve received lots of girls who are 9 to 11 years old, and now we’re aiming to start activities for the slightly older ones.