Forgiveness

In 2008 former freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout traveled to Somalia to research a story on the millions of people affected by two decades of war, drought and famine. Kidnapped by teenage criminals outside of the capital city, Mogadishu, Lindhout spent 15 months enduring unimaginable hardships as a hostage in one of the world's poorest countries. “I’ve been kept in a dark, windowless room in chains, without any clean drinking water and little or no food. I've been very sick for months without any medicine." she said.
15 months after the kidnapping, Lindhout's kidnappers released her. A ransom was paid with money raised through friends, families, and other supporters from Canada and Australia. After suffering the ordeal she went through when she was held as a captive she had no plans to return to Somalia but a visit to a Somali refugee camp inside Kenya changed her mind. The vision of malnourished children and women motivated her to work on her new project to deliver food aid to Somalia. Only four months after returning home, Lindhout founded the Global Enrichment Foundation and established the Somali Women's Scholarship Program to ignite female leadership in Somalia through university education. Her travels to over 50 countries - including Iraq and Afghanistan - have given Lindhout a unique and nuanced understanding of the consequences of the depravations caused by war and the subsequent effects on women. She is passionate about sharing her message of forgiveness and about creating awareness of the opportunities each individual has to create sustainable change in the world.