Diomande Maoua
Nominee: Diomande Maoua, Health care worker. Originally Ivory Coast. Arrived in 2001.
Nominator: Muhammad Saqib, Graduate student. Originally from Pakistan. Arrived in 2016.
Diomande started out as Muhammad’s landlady, but quickly became his second mother, giving him advice, making sure he made it to class, and – for the benefit of his future wife – teaching him to sweep, mop and do laundry.
“I came as a refugee myself and the early years were very hard,” says Diomande. “A lot of good people helped me, so whenever I am helping somebody, it’s like giving back what I received.”
“Diomande is a very kind-hearted woman,” says Muhammad. “She knows very well the meaning of the word humanity, without the barriers of any religion, culture and race.”