Recent Public Health Graduate Wins J.W. Saxe Memorial Award for Public Service

STONY BROOK , NY - Samia Omar (M.P.H., ’08), has won the J.W. Saxe Memorial Award for her work in oral health education. The award money will go towards implementation of an oral health education program in Madagascar where children suffer from poor oral hygiene.  The Saxe Award is given nationwide to students who choose to work in public service and need financial support to aid their projects.

Omar designed a school-based oral health education program entitled “Smile a Day,” which targets selected villages in remote areas of Madagascar. The project is part of a larger public health agenda called the Madagascar Ankizy Fund (MAF), led by Professor David Krause from the  Anatomical Sciences department at Stony Brook. The MAF is intended to provide education and healthcare to children in remote regions of the country.

Samia Omar (right), and David Krause from Anatomical Sciences (left).

The award's monetary prize is $2,000 which she will use for her trip to Madagascar and also to coordinate the program. She is also organizing a fundraising campaign to cover other costs for “Smile a Day”. For more information about the program or to donate, please visit: http://meals2heal.webs.com/

Ms. Omar was born in Kenya. She received her B.A. from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where she graduated Honors with degrees in Psychology and Health Studies. During her time in Hamilton, she was affiliated with YouthNet Hamilton, an organization where she was a group facilitator promoting mental health for teenagers ages 13-18. She was also a member of the AIDS 2006 Toronto Youth Advisory Committee, and served as president of the McMaster African Students Association. Ms. Omar received her M.P.H from Stony Brook in the Spring of 2008.

The J.W. Saxe Memorial Award has been given annually since 1984 to 12 university or college students nationwide. The award is meant to enable the student to gain practical experience in public service by taking a no-pay or low-pay job or internship during a summer or other term. The recipients will spend a term helping to solve health, social, and human rights problems in either work or educational capacities.

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