Fartumo Kusow

Founder, Chair & President

Fartumo Kusow is the Founder, Chair, and President of the Sahra Bulle Foundation — a registered not-for-profit based in Windsor, Ontario, operating through its Centre for Learning and Teaching to advance gender-based violence education, awareness, and institutional accountability.

Fartumo established the foundation in memory of her daughter Sahra Bulle, whose story became the foundation of a mission: to ensure that no family navigates the silence that surrounds gender-based violence alone. Her work is rooted in the belief that education is the most durable form of protection — and that communities, not just institutions, must be equipped to respond.

A teacher, author, and advocate, Fartumo is the author of three books — Amran, Tale of a Boon's Wife, and Winter of My Spring. She hosts two podcasts: Break the Silence, Build a Future, which amplifies survivor and advocate voices on gender-based violence, and My Mother: The Person and the Patient, a personal chronicle of her mother's life with Alzheimer's disease.

Through the foundation, Fartumo leads free educational programming on gender-based violence, caregiving, and community safety — including the monthly Silence Is Not Protection workshop series, an annual walk, and a youth conference held each November. She brings to this work not only professional expertise but a parent's understanding of what is at stake when the door between a child and the people who love them closes.

Shagufta Arif Khan

Director

Shagufta Arif Khan brings an intersectional lived and professional perspective to the Sahra Bulle Foundation. As a South Asian Muslim woman, an immigrant from Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, and a trained legal and social work professional, she approaches gender-based violence prevention through a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and rights-based lens.

Shagufta currently serves as Elder Abuse Intervention Coordinator and Ontario Health at Home Case Management Lead at Family Services Windsor-Essex, and as Social Affairs Director at the Windsor Islamic Association, where she leads community engagement, newcomer inclusion, and support initiatives. She has previously served as a Domestic Violence Worker with Windsor-Essex Children's Aid Society, providing crisis intervention and advocacy for survivors.

A lifelong volunteer with the Islamic Social Welfare Association (ISWA) Windsor and the Nisa Foundation, Shagufta has dedicated years of service to supporting women and single mothers affected by gender-based violence. Her commitment to social justice, equity, and dignity for all people guides her work on the foundation's board.

Master of Social Work (MSW) — University of Windsor  |  Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) — University of Windsor  |  Bachelor of Laws — Pakistan  |  Master of Political Science — Pakistan

Samar Farooqui

Director, Development & Resource Mobilization | Treasurer

Samar Farooqui has been a dedicated community volunteer since 2017, working alongside Muslim communities, vulnerable populations, and marginalized groups to advance inclusive programs and meaningful social impact. Her years of grassroots experience in advocacy, outreach, and community development inform a collaborative, community-centred approach to the foundation's growth.

As Director of Development and Resource Mobilization and Treasurer, Samar leads the foundation's fundraising and sponsorship efforts — cultivating relationships with donors, partners, and stakeholders to advance the mission and ensure long-term sustainability. She works to secure both financial and in-kind support while strengthening partnerships that expand the foundation's reach and deepen community impact.

Samar currently serves as Vice Principal at a private elementary school, where she is committed to educational excellence, leadership development, and the growth of every student in her care.

Bachelor of Business Administration

Rehab Alwahani

Director & Secretary

Bio coming soon.

Mohamud Bulle

Officer, Social Media, Community Outreach & Donation/Grant Communications

Mohamud Bulle carries the loss of his sister Sahra with purpose. In the aftermath of her death, he found himself asking the questions that grief asks of every surviving family member — what could I have said, what could I have done, what could I have changed. He came to understand that those questions, while necessary to sit with, could not bring his sister back. What they could do was point him forward.

Mohamud made a decision not to be a bystander. He committed his time, his skills, and his energy to ensuring that other families — other women living through, surviving, and leaving violence — would have access to the education and support that can change outcomes.

With a background in marketing, Mohamud recognized early that a foundation's mission is only as far-reaching as its ability to communicate. He joined the Sahra Bulle Foundation to close that gap — to carry the foundation's work to the people who need it most, through consistent, human, and community-centred messaging.

His sister's name is on the door. His work keeps it open.