Mustafa turned hate mail into an idea for a business that bridges the gap between cultures in a community. People in the community can share a dinner in the home of a refugee family in the area and learn about the culture and country of that family. Mustafa states that, “Once you know somebody’s story, it is very hard to hate them.”
Mustafa is a Somali former refugee, an advocate, and the founder of Bridge, a social enterprise platform that lets people book cross-cultural experiences with refugees from around the world locally. After winning Lancaster’s Great Social Enterprise Pitch with his Idea to connect the community, Bridge has organized more than two thousand cross cultural conversations and dinners between the refugee community and their neighbors. Mustafa also serves as community leader in the immigrant coalition and has advocated for refugee issues from local, state, and international levels. He was awarded as the Young Refugee Rising Star and the Volunteer of the Year for his work in the community. He is now spreading his platform to many communities across the country to promote dialogue and understanding between people. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx