From Refugee to Health Advocate: Amira Koumato's Mission to Expand Breast Cancer Awareness

A Personal Mission Rooted in Experience

Originally from the Central African Republic, Amira Koumato transformed personal loss and lived experience into a mission to improve women's health in immigrant and refugee communities. After spending five years as a refugee and losing her mother to breast cancer, she arrived in Utah in 2019 determined to expand access to health education and preventive care for women who often face linguistic, cultural, and systemic barriers to healthcare.

Soon after arriving, Amira began working with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), where she observed that while trauma and mental health services were available to refugee families, breast cancer education was largely absent. Recognizing this gap, she envisioned a community-based organization dedicated to increasing awareness of breast cancer prevention and early detection among immigrant and refugee populations. That vision became PreventHer, a nonprofit organization focused on culturally responsive health education and outreach.

Turning Vision into Action

Building PreventHer required both determination and strategic planning. Before the organization earned nonprofit status in 2022, Amira sought opportunities to raise awareness and build support for her mission. One of those opportunities came through the Miss Africa contest. She participated not for personal recognition, but to gain visibility for her emerging initiative. Winning the contest provided funding and community support that helped launch PreventHer and transform an idea into a growing organization.

To ensure that PreventHer's programs reflected community needs, Amira conducted surveys and interviews with immigrant and refugee residents. Through this process, she identified several barriers to preventive care, including fear of mammograms, limited English proficiency, and unfamiliarity with the U.S. healthcare system. These findings reinforced the need for culturally responsive education tailored to the experiences of immigrant and refugee women.

Rather than accepting these barriers as inevitable, Amira focused on solutions. "Instead of complaining about that, why don't I just do something about it?" she recalls. That commitment to action continues to guide PreventHer's work today.

Building Leadership Through WLI

As PreventHer expanded, Amira sought additional leadership training through the Westside Leadership Institute (WLI). Completing Fundamentals in 2023 and Startups in 2024 equipped her with practical tools to strengthen and sustain the organization. The Startups course was particularly influential, providing skills in nonprofit management, organizational development, and grant writing. "It helped me, for example, grant writing. It's something that I've never done before," she explains. These new skills contributed to securing support from the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation, helping advance PreventHer's work in Salt Lake City's west-side communities.

WLI also reinforced the importance of collaborative leadership. Through the program, Amira recognized that sustainable community impact requires a strong team. "You cannot do everything by yourself. You need to bring people to have a team to help you and to have more impact," she says.

Inspired by this lesson, she developed a volunteer program in partnership with Salt Lake Community College, engaging students in community outreach, educational workshops, and cultural events. By empowering volunteers to support PreventHer's mission, Amira has expanded the organization's reach while creating opportunities for future community leaders.

Partnerships for Prevention

A key element of PreventHer's success has been its collaborative approach. Amira has cultivated partnerships with organizations such as the Huntsman Cancer Institute, which provides training, educational materials, and resources that strengthen the organization's outreach efforts. Through these partnerships, PreventHer hosts educational sessions designed to make health information accessible and welcoming. Amira carefully coordinates event logistics, including locations, scheduling, and meals, to create environments where participants feel comfortable asking questions and learning about preventive care.

One of her proudest achievements is seeing women from her community receive mammograms—a routine screening that can have life-saving consequences through early detection. For Amira, every woman who gains knowledge about breast health or completes a screening represents meaningful progress. "My mom had to travel to France to get a mammogram," she shares, reflecting on the barriers her own family faced. The experience continues to motivate her commitment to ensuring that women in Utah have access to local resources and information. "Even though it's one person getting a mammogram and getting educated, it's a success for me because it reduced the lack of education within the community."

Serving the Community Beyond PreventHer

Amira's commitment to community well-being extends beyond PreventHer. She continues to volunteer with the IRC as a Sango interpreter, helping refugee families navigate services and resources. She is also involved with the Utah Public Health Association and contributes to Salt Lake County's New Americans Program, supporting newcomers as they adapt to life in the United States.

These roles reflect her broader commitment to empowerment and inclusion. Whether helping families access services, understand health information, or navigate unfamiliar systems, Amira works to reduce barriers and strengthen community connections.

Looking Ahead

As PreventHer continues to grow, Amira is exploring new ways to expand its impact. Recognizing the diversity of refugee and immigrant communities and the importance of culturally trusted messengers, she plans to develop a training program that prepares young women to serve as community health educators.

Her commitment to understanding systemic barriers has also shaped her professional path. Transitioning from digital marketing into the health insurance field, Amira sought to better understand how healthcare coverage works in the United States. She notes that health insurance can be difficult for many immigrant families to navigate, yet understanding concepts such as deductibles, provider networks, and covered services is essential for accessing preventive care, including mammograms.

Through PreventHer and her broader community engagement, Amira is helping reduce health disparities while empowering women to become advocates for their own health. As she develops new programs and partnerships, her vision remains clear: to ensure that immigrant and refugee women have the knowledge, confidence, and support they need to access lifesaving preventive care. Amira's journey from refugee to community leader demonstrates how lived experience, combined with strategic leadership and community collaboration, can create lasting change.

This profile was researched and written by University of Utah students Joaquin Lopez Huertas and Hayllen Meneses Rosas based on interviews conducted as part of the WLI Alumni Profile Series. The series explores how WLI graduates apply leadership skills developed through the Westside Leadership Institute to strengthen their communities. The project is led by Dr. Stacy Harwood and supported by funding from the College of Architecture + Planning Research Incentive Seed Grant Program and the University Neighborhood Partners Community Scholar in Residence Program at the University of Utah.