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SPPA alumna recognized as 'Peacemaker' for work in Afghanistan
11:46 a.m., June 22, 2012--Awista Ayub, a 2009 master of public administration graduate from the University of Delaware's School of Public Policy and Administration, has been recognized by ESPN The Magazine as one of 40 women to change the way sports are played.
Ayub, who founded the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange at 23 and brought
eight Afghani girls to America to teach them soccer, chronicled her
experiences in her 2010 book, However Tall the Mountain. (Read more about her book here).
She was honored by ESPN The Magazine for her role as Peacemaker.
Today, thanks in large part to Ayub's efforts, there are 15 girls
soccer teams administered by the Afghanistan Football Federation, and
the Afghanistan Olympic Committee has formed a national women's team,
the magazine stated. Now, in her role [as director of South Asia
Programs] with Seeds of Peace, Ayub, 32, uses basketball, soccer and
tennis to introduce conflict resolution to children in many regions
around the world, including India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Ayub received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2006 ESPY Awards for her efforts in Afghanistan.
Photo by Kevin Quinlan
Originally published by UDaily.