Abdimajid “Axe” Ahmed’s journey began in Kenya’s Dadaab Refugee Camp, where he was born after his family fled the violence of the Somali Civil War. His family eventually resettled in Rochester, Minnesota, where his mother courageously raised Axe and his three siblings on her own, laying the foundation for the remarkable path that followed.

Starting over in a new country wasn’t easy. Axe had to navigate a new language – despite already speaking three – a new school, and an unfamiliar culture, all at once. Everything began to change in sixth grade, when a teacher named Jim Sonju took a genuine interest in him at John Adams Middle School in Rochester Public Schools.

“I was lucky enough to be Abdimajid’s 6th-grade teacher when he arrived at JA,” Jim says. “It was easy to see he was a leader — he had an energy and presence with others. I wanted to make sure he knew he had so much potential if he channeled that leadership into positive actions.”

Jim used tickets donated through Tickets for Kids to spend time with Axe outside the classroom — and to build the kind of trust that changes a kid’s trajectory. Together they went to Timberwolves, Twins, Minnesota Wild, and Vikings games, and explored the Science Museum of Minnesota and the Minnesota Zoo.

“I really appreciated everything, and we always had an awesome time connecting and talking about life on our three hour car trips going up to see the Timberwolves or Vikings games,” Jim recalls. “He still jokes with me today about how we would get lost on the way — [back in the days when you had to print your directions off] — but that was always a good thing. We had more chances to chat about the future.”

Jim noticed the difference it made. So, he didn’t stop with Axe — or “Showtime,” as he called him — he brought Axe’s younger brother, Ahmed M. Ahmed, along too. The same games, the same museum trips, the same message: someone in this town cares about you. What started as one teacher reaching out to one student grew into something that shaped an entire family and a community.

For a single mom raising four kids, experiences like these were simply out of reach financially. Tickets for Kids made them possible. As Axe puts it:

“Living in a home with a single mom working two jobs with 3 siblings, there is no way we could afford to go to the events Tickets for Kids offered. Now, as an adult, I truly realize what that access can mean and how important it is for kids.” – Axe Ahmed

Those games and outings did more than fill an afternoon. They showed Axe a bigger world, proved to him that people cared about him, and gave him permission to dream big.

Axe carried that momentum forward. He was recruited to play Division I basketball at North Dakota State University, then earned his Master’s in Business Analytics from Georgetown University. Today, he’s running for Mayor of Rochester, Minnesota — the same city where his mother once raised four kids on her own. And she says she will never leave.

Ahmed M. Ahmed’s path took a different shape, but the same spark lit it. He went on to Cornell University, was named a Rhodes Scholar, completed two master’s degrees at Oxford, and later graduated from Harvard Medical School. Today, he’s a Cardiology Fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard teaching hospital, working to make sure patients get access to care his own family once went without.

From a refugee camp in Kenya to a mayoral campaign, the Ahmed family’s path shows what’s possible when kids get access, connection, and someone in their corner — and how far that reach can go when it’s extended to more than just one child.

“It has been incredible to see Abdimajid’s life unfold — he has always been service-minded and looking to make people’s day,” Jim says. “I could not be prouder of the man he is and aspires to be in his bid to be Mayor [of Rochester]. He just wants to help others and his community.”

You can be that access for another kid

Axe and Ahmed’s story happened because a caring teacher had tickets to share and a nonprofit that made it possible. Every day, kids in single-parent homes, foster care, and low-income families miss out on experiences that seem small but mean everything — a ballgame, a museum trip, a day that tells them someone cares, and that there’s a bigger world out there.

Your support helps Tickets for Kids put more tickets into the hands of kids who need them most. DONATE TODAY and help write the next chapter for kids like Axe and Ahmed.

* Tickets for Kids is a nonprofit organization and does not endorse political candidates. Abdi’s mayoral campaign is mentioned here solely as part of his personal story and journey.