State: Florida
Years on RSYC: 2019-2021
Mahir uses storytelling to highlight social and reproductive justice issues, bringing attention to adolescent health, critical global health, sexual health, and maternal and child health in Latin America, Perú, and the United States,
As a RSYC Fellow, Mahir is working on two projects. The first, a visual storytelling project documenting how RSYC youth leaders inspire hope, creativity, and change amidst rapid social and environmental change. Mahir is also guiding a new Global Connection working group to help create opportunities for Roots & Shoots youth from across the globe to connect and learn from each other.
Currently a graduate student studying applied medical anthropology, Mahir’s research is focused on adolescent pregnancy in the North Coast of Perú. In his home state, Mahir recently opened an exhibition entitled Mapping Resilience: Stories of Young Motherhood, which displays journey maps, photos, and audio-visual accounts of youth pregnancy and motherhood experiences in Florida.
As a Roots & Shoots Youth Council member, Mahir founded a Roots & Shoots club at his high school and worked on nine community projects spanning menstrual equity, public health, equitable education access, and environmental justice.
Mahir draws inspiration from this quote: “Justice, though delayed, cannot be denied.”
