GCDD Welcomes New Real Communities Director

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) welcomed Sumaya Karimi as its new Real Communities organizing director earlier this spring. Karimi, however, is no stranger to Real Communities and the work being done by GCDD across the State.

“I got involved with GCDD when Real Communities started and worked along with [former director] Caitlin Childs and Aarti Sahgal. They were both working in Clarkston and I was working with CDF (Clarkston Development Foundation)Action doing community development in that area. I became interested in Real Communities and their approach to the community and the way they worked,” said Karimi.

Originally from Afghanistan, the trained doctor has been an advocate for inclusion and human rights since she can remember. She worked extensively in women’s and human rights in Afghanistan and when she moved to Georgia in 2000, she got involved in anti-human trafficking and domestic violence efforts.

She then worked with community development and began looking at how to create an infrastructure in society where everyone is valued, the local economy flourishes and life is improved for all.

To her, promoting inclusion became personally important. “I see a lot of refugee and immigrant women who are excluded from the mainstream of community life,” Karimi said. “Exclusion, discrimination and not being valued is something that has personally touched my life. I really wanted to work on something where everyone has a space and a place to be valued, to be respected.”

As the Real Communities director, Karimi hopes to bring people with and without disabilities together to create change. “That is my dream. To create a social fabric where people work together for change and also change the culture of inclusion so all people can increase their value and contributions to the community.”

Read the entire summer issue of Making a Difference magazine:


 



Download pdf version of Making a Difference Summer 2015    largeprint