Born in Sri Lanka, living in Auckland, Azoora Ali is helping unite opposite sides of the world. Tim Lamb reports
Azoora Ali's friends at Mt Albert Grammar thought it unfair she could supervise their NCEA exams ? they are the same age. It is one advantage of completing high school at
15. Azoora is now 18 and only a year off completing a four-year accounting and taxation degree at the University of Auckland. However, academic brilliance is not the reason Azoora's been nominated for a Young Aucklander of the Year award. It is her promotion of peace in her backyard, and beyond, that's providing inspiration to other Aucklanders. Azoora was instrumental in organising a camp for youth which won the Sonja Davies Peace Prize last November. ''The whole idea was to promote peace between different youth and get them to interact with each other and in the community.'' The headscarf Azoora wears daily is evidence of her devotion to Islam. The camp at Hunua was organised through the Auckland Muslim Girls' Association and attracted 30 young people. ''I think we achieved more than we thought we would. After the camp we wanted some outcomes and not for it to just be something the kids went to and forgot about.'' As a way of promoting peace those who attended will visit rest homes to talk about their backgrounds. In November, Azoora will return to her country of birth, Sri Lanka. She and other New Zealanders will see the foundations of an orphanage that has been funded largely by big-hearted Kiwis. ''We've already got the land and the plan is to have a proper centre with education facilities so it feels less like an orphanage.'' The centre, in the country's North Eastern Province, will house children orphaned by the 2004 tsunami. Azoora helped co-ordinate relief efforts in New Zealand, collecting food and clothing immediately after the disaster. The tsunami killed about 230,000 people, mostly in Indonesia. She knew one family who lost 16 members. Her relatives lost homes and belongings. ''When people need help it's our duty to help them out. I don't feel like I've done much at all.
