#22 | Dr. Mojgan Hakimi | Birth of PAWC and Helping Iranian Refugees

On Wednesday, May 26th, 2021 I had the pleasure of having a virtual sit down with Dr. Mojgan Hakimi.

Dr. Hakimi is the Department Chair at the School of Psychology at Touro College in Los Angeles and the founder of the Persian American Women's Conference. PAWC is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit, volunteer-based organization based in California that focuses on providing a collaborative forum, through which they explore, inspire, and unconditionally support all women.

I learned about Dr. Hakimi when I watched the documentary called "The Voiceless Refugees" which was produced by Iran International, that followed Princess Yasmine Pahlavi to the Moria Refugee Camp in Lesbos, Greece that is supporting many Persian refugees. In my previous AWESOME People episode, I learned that Princess Yasmine was utilizing the incredible organization that is PAWC, as a vehicle to provide a wide range of support to Cafe Patogh in Lesbos that is in turn, supporting the refugees.

In that documentary, Princess Yasmine invited Dr. Hakimi to join her in Greece to ascertain the situation at the camp as well as speak to some of the refugees to see how she, her fellow colleagues and PAWC can be of service to their fellow countrymen and women in dire needs.

In this episode, we talking more about the efforts of PAWC since it's inception in 2011, as well as the organizations collaboration with Princess Yasmine since 2019 to help the refugees in Greece.

We discussed the side-effects that refugees experience before migration, during migration and after migration. Many refugees, including young children, suffer from mental health, physical abuse, sexual abuse and much more, that can lead to profound, life lasting impact.

Lastly, we discussed how our Persian community globally can come together to support our brothers and sisters in need. I also made an announcement which I hope will help generate more awareness, which in turn, can result in positive change in the lives of those who are desperately seeking for it.

Below is a short clip from my previous episode with Princess Yasmine and Prince Reza Pahlavi where we discussed her visit to Greece:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jba1AaKLYS0

Here is also the link to the documentary I mentioned above which I highly recommend everyone watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI6TkEH42zQ

And below is the link to the GoFundMe for Cafe Patogh:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-cafe-patogh?utm_campaign=p_cp_url&utm_medium=os&utm_source=customer

Welcome to the conversation.

Welcome to AWESOME people.

- Iman Huschmand

PS: Text me at 202.918.3376 to join the community and be notified about new episodes and updates and follow us on IG: @imanhuschmand @letsuniteandconquer @pawc_la To watch previous episodes: www.AwesomePeoplePodcast.com