Agazi Afewerki Receives Diversity Award for Integration

Inspired by their experience helping their parents with ESL homework, two Toronto men launched an innovative approach to integrating immigrant adults into their community.

Agazi Afewerki and Mohammed Shafique created Youth Empowering Parents (YEP) in 2010 to connect immigrant adults with youth who teach them the skills they need to become engaged in the community, including English-as-a-second-language tutoring.

A year later, the group received an Intercultural Innovation Award, a joint initiative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the BMW Group that provides funding and support to 10 grassroots organizations a year that promote intercultural understanding. Of the past 20 winners, three were from Toronto. They were recognized Thursday at a lunch event at Regent Park.