Surrey Schools employees bring home two DIVERSEcity community awards
Teacher Annie Ohana was recognized with the Community Changemaker award.Two Surrey Schools employees were recently honoured by the DIVERSEcity Community Resource Society for their contributions and lasting impact to their communities.
Outreach worker Yousif Shaboo and teacher Annie Ohana were recognized at the 2023 DIVERSEcity Awards of Impact, taking home the Youth Leadership and Community Changemaker awards, respectively.
For Ohana, the award is the second recognition she’s received in as many weeks, having recently been named to the shortlist for the Global Teacher Prize. Ohana was recognized for her work with Mustang Justice, a social justice and anti-oppression student leadership group founded by her.
Shaboo’s award comes just one year after he joined Surrey Schools as a full-time outreach worker, and is further validation that he is making a difference in the lives of people that share a similar background to himself.
Having arrived in Canada 10 years ago after spending previous years in Iraq and Syria, he found himself in a new country with few resources or community connections.
“I left school when I was about 14 due to safety concerns and so when I came to Canada, I was behind a lot of other kids,” he said. “I took some catch-up courses and became a client of the Welcome Centre – and through that I was able to finish my high school education.”
While he initially didn’t care much for school due to his past experiences in Syria and Iraq, Shaboo said Surrey Schools staff never gave up on him and encouraged him to finish his education.
“I didn’t think of school as a safe space for me, but the Welcome Centre staff, they went above and beyond to help me fit in,” he said.
After graduating and beginning work as a security guard, Shaboo found helping people was the most enjoyable part of his job. Eager to make a bigger impact in people’s lives, he enrolled in a course focused on recovery, addiction and youth work.
“I ended up doing my practicum with Surrey Schools and I fell in love with the job, helping new families and students, it was so rewarding,” he said.
Outreach worker Yousif Shaboo was honoured with this year's Youth Leadership award.
The district hired him as an outreach worker in 2022, and Shaboo now facilitates several youth programs through the Community Schools Partnership department, work that is near and dear to his heart.
“When I got my job and received my Surrey Schools badge, it really meant a lot,” he said. “These are the people that first helped me when I came to Canada and now I get to be that for others. There’s nothing better.”
Congratulations to Shaboo and Ohana – you make our district proud!
