Zuhur Ahmed just turned 25, but she feels much older and wiser than she ought to at that age. Part of the reason for this, she believes, is all that she's heard and experienced while doing her weekly radio show.

Every Sunday from 2 to 3 p.m. "Somali Community Link," which she's hosted since 2008, can be heard on KFAI (90.3 in Minneapolis and 106.7 in St. Paul).

She originally intended to use the show to give voice to some of the rarely-talked-about issues Somali youth face in the Twin Cities. But her focus has expanded to include a wide range of topics that are important to the local Somali community but don't get much coverage in the mainstream press.

This means she stays away from talking politics as much as possible. "Especially discussions about what's happening back home," says Ahmed, who got her start in radio volunteering for another KFAI show, "Somali Voices" in 2006. "Politics get a lot of coverage, maybe to the point where other important issues are being overlooked."

Many Issues, Many Voices

Issues like gang violence, teen pregnancy among Somali girls, and homelessness, for starters. Even if a topic like the rising number of Somali boys joining Twin Cities gangs does get covered, Ahmed says, the reasons for the problem are rarely examined. "It's a cry for help from boys who are missing father figures," she says. And she believes it's the same reason young Somalis are also going back home to join terrorist groups.

"I've talked to some of these boys and what they say is that they try to talk to their fathers but they don't listen to them because all they want to talk about is what's happening back home," she explains. "This is especially hard for immigrants who are having a hard time as it is, so it isn't like some gang member or some terrorist guy is stealing their minds. They just want to belong somewhere, so they join them."

The format of the show varies from week to week. Sometimes she has a guest who tackles a subject like immigration. Other times she talks about a topic she's researched herself and then takes calls. Once in a while, Ahmed just takes calls so she can find out what people are concerned about and try to address those things on the show. "All I can think when I do that is, 'my God, this one-hour show is not doing justice because so much more needs to be done,'" she says.

What Ahmed hears from people on and off the air is often shocking. While reporting a show on how poverty affects Somali youth, for example, she learned that a growing number of Somali children are homeless. Some run away from legal guardians looking after them in the U.S. Some are kicked out for doing drugs or joining gangs. This wouldn't happen in Somalia, she says, because kids without immediate family members would have extended family to turn to. "They wouldn't be alone like this; it just wouldn't happen," she says.

Doing the show has made Ahmed a well-known and trusted figure in the Somali community. When she goes to Somali malls or even sits down somewhere with a cup of coffee, it's not uncommon for people to come up to her with ideas for the show, requests for her to get involved with other projects, or pleas to direct them to services that might help them. She says that she's flattered, honored. and also very tired. "I sleep about four hours a night," she says, laughing and wincing a bit at the same time. "With the show and school and everything it's so hard to get it all done."

Headed for Healing

It doesn't help that school isn't just any school. Ahmed, who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2008, is currently working on pre-med coursework at Concordia University in St. Paul. She will be applying to medical schools soon and hopes to start classes in September of 2011. Her dream is to be a doctor with a global group like Doctors Without Borders or a non-governmental organization that provides health care. "There is so much need in the world and I want to have an affect on people's lives," she explains. "That's why I volunteer so much." Because doctors who work closely with people in countries around the world understand the day-to-day struggles those people face, she may also incorporate journalism into her work, she says. "You can read all you want but if you don't hear personal stories, you don't know what's going on."

It is the activist in Ahmed that makes her different from the rest of her seven siblings, of whom she's the third youngest. With the exception of her 13-year-old sister, they are all happily married and, she says, they often ask her teasingly when she will do the same--or if she'll just continue as "auntie" to her nieces and nephews.

Her family moved to Minneapolis in 1998 after living for a few years in Syria where they sought refuge after fleeing Somalia's civil war in the early 1990s. Ahmed recalls life in Syria being "pretty normal," but like so many other families that fled, they did not escape without losses. In 1991, Ahmed's six-month-old brother died from malnutrition as the war raged on and food and health care were scarce. This, she says, is part of the motivation behind her wanting to become a doctor. "I was also motivated by reading," she continues. "I love reading and the more I read the more I realized what was going on in the world and how much help is needed."

A Day in the Life

Ahmed knows she will likely be leaving Minnesota for med school next year and she worries about who will take over the show when she's gone. She's looking for a successor to train, but for now her routine continues unchanged: every morning she wakes up and listens to Minnesota Public Radio and KFAI. She goes online to read  news and then she thinks about all the things people have asked her to talk about and what she should tackle next.

Some subjects, like autism, get revisited many times--and those are often the ones that touch Ahmed most deeply. When the high rate of autism among Somali children in Minnesota made headlines in 2008, for example, she invited parents to call in, share their struggles, and offer tips for handling the disorder. "There is so much frustration because people don't know what's going on with their children and they need help," she explains, adding that autism is virtually unknown in Somalia, so misunderstanding of the disorder is common. "They really just want people in the community to understand that their children aren't sick and they want the department of health to do something."

Ahmed admits that the weight of people's personal stories and struggles can sometimes be overwhelming. But she wouldn't trade the experience of hosting the show for anything. "I would never know the things I know at my age if I hadn't done this," she says. "If my show has helped one person or one family that's something, and I appreciate that KFAI provides airtime for giving voice to the Somali community.

"As human beings, we all have dreamed about doing something huge that makes a difference, but I've learned that even small things help."

Meleah Maynard is a Minneapolis-based writer and editor.

All photos by Bill Kelley