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Sahan Jama might be the most politically active, observant, empathetic 6-year-old in Portland.
Last month, Sahan created a GoFundMe page to raise money to make "starter packs" for the Hansen homeless shelter, which recently opened a few blocks from his home in Northeast Portland's Hazelwood neighborhood.
His goal was to raise $1,575 to and fill them with Adult Day Passes on Tri-Met, towels and a washcloth, socks and underwear, non-perishable snacks and beverages and hygiene items.
He ended up raising $1,900 and was able to make 25 packs.
"Like most kids, Sahan and [his sister] Saharla have been concerned about homeless folks. They see them at the corners and when we're going on the freeway," says Sahan's mother, Stephanie Stephens. "We've been talking about the issues since he's been old enough to talk."
She says Sahan wants to be an architect and an engineer when he grows up, so he can build houses for homeless people.
"He's always been attuned to poverty and equity ever since he was really, really young," she says.
When Sahan heard the Hansen shelter was opening near his house, both the kids were excited and wanted to attend a community meeting to voice their support. Stephens was reluctant at first, because she knew that not everyone would be in support of the shelter. When they arrived, she quickly realized that people were angry, and that she didn't feel safe having her kids there.
"I took them out of the room when a neighbor screamed, "THIS IS WHY WE HAVE TO VOTE FOR TRUMP IN NOVEMBER," she wrote on the GoFundMe page. "My kids know the kinds of things Trump says about people like Daddy, our family, them."
They went home, where she was Sahan was very disturbed by what had happened at the meeting.
They called the shelter to see if they could volunteer, but they required volunteers to be 8 years old. Instead, they sent a list of items they needed. At first, Sahan wanted to make "starter packs," which would hold everything people would need, like laptops so they could find jobs, clothes and money.
"I was just thinking about what could they use and I was thinking about sending a package of things they might need," says Sahan.
"We sat down and looked up how much things cost and I said look, "this is the list the shelter needs and why don't you pick out some things, and we can't afford to donate everything, but we can ask people to donate,' and he was just really excited about it," she says. "He was persistent about it. It's not just, 'isn't this a nice idea?' and then Mom does it."
She showed him how to make the GoFundMe page, and Sahan did all the researching, going on Amazon and figuring out how much everything costs. They figured he could raise enough to make 10 packs, but he ended up making 25, plus two car trunks full of food and coffee. Stephens says they still have leftover stuff at their house that they're going to hand out to homeless people on the side of the road, which Sahan is excited about, because he was concerned that there were only going to be 200 beds at the Hansen Shelter.
"He was so excited that people actually wanted to help. I think it was important because that was a tough meeting. It's a tough lesson that not everyone wants to help and for him to have that experience is really positive," she says.
This is Sahan coming home to find out he had reached the goal:
While most six-year-olds simply have LEGOS and 1st-grade social dynamics on the brain, Sahan's interest in issues of homelessness come from his own family story. Sahan's father is a refugee from Somalia.
"He grew up as a nomad in a tent. He didn't have a house. They moved where the water and the grass was. Sahan grew up hearing stories of poverty and homelessness and he related that to his dad," Stephens says.
She also says that even the name Sahan in Somali culture is the same word for a small group of men in nomadic culture who get sent out when the water and grass dry up to look for a place that's better for the community.
"His whole name in a way is a sense of finding home and bringing the community to a better place," she says. "It's his own story in life."
The GoFundMe is now closed, after raising more than Sahan's goal, but Stephens wants to encourage people to donate to the shelters.
"I'd love for people in Portland to get inspired by the example of a six year old…who just gets it. I feel like if more people thought like he did, we'd be able to do more as a community," she says. "I'm really inspired by the kid."
And how does Sahan say it felt to raise that much money to help people? "It felt great!"
Willamette Week