"HUMA GUSHU" Educational Charity Fund.

Huma quşu is a non-commercial, non-profit, non-governmental organization. This Fund was created by family members of Humay Guliyeva, who worked at various international organizations and passed away at a young age, to commemorate her memory and to continue her kind deeds. The name was inspired by a line from a poem Humay had written, “ After all, I am named after a bird living its entire life flying invisibly high above the Earth – Huma.” The motto of the fund is another poetic reference, from The Treasury of Mysteries by Nizami Ganjavi, - "You are a Huma bird, do honorable acts!" The mission of the Fund is to provide financial assistance to economically disfavored yet talented kids to pursue undergraduate and graduate studies in Azerbaijan and abroad, thus helping them to become kind, patriotic and fulfilled members of the society. At the same time, the Fund aims to assist Karabakh War veterans to pursue their studies in the field of information technologies and learn new skills. Humay had an endless passion for knowledge and education. Thus the main priority of this Fund was selected accordingly. For now, the only financial source of the Fund is Humay's savings which she accumulated during her seven years at the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Fund aims to spend these funds, which is the result of Humay's hard work, expediently in order to continue her noble deeds. The Fund also encourages other organizations and individuals to donate in order to expand its scope and further support educational aspirations of underprivileged youth. Humay's relatives and close friends participate voluntarily and on a pro bono basis in running daily operations at the Fund. Decisions are being made jointly, based on integrity, merit and other principles specified in the statute of the Fund. Grant aided students are selected based on their talent, work ethic, discipline, civic activity, patriotism and moral values. Shahla Vezirova, mother of Humay, is the founder and the president of the Fund. Board of trustees, consisting of three members, monitors the Fund's activities.

HUMAY QULİYEVA (1985-2021)

Humay was born on November 17th 1985 in Baku. She had great interest in music, reading and arts since she was a little kid. She learned to read by herself at the age of four. Humay went to school number 20 in 1991. She continued her education in Baku European Lyceum in 1996. She participated in a student exchange program in 2001 and spent six months with a host American family in Denver, Colorado. She graduated from high school the same year. Humay`s language of schooling was Azerbaijani. However, she loved learning languages and was very fluent in English, Russian, Turkish, French, Spanish and Ukrainian. She used these languages through her career, however, she wrote her poems and writings mainly in English. After that Humay studied Economics in Bilkent University, Ankara, Türkiye in 2001-2005. Later on Humay started to work in bp Baku office. As part of Public Relations team, she was a deputy editor and one of the main contributors of the Compass magazine. In 2007-2009 Humay pursued Master of Arts in Social and Economic Development program in Columbia University. In 2010-2012 she worked as a gender specialist as part of the World Bank's Junior Professional Association program in the bank's HQ in Washington, D.C. She was in charge a project in Liberia, one of the most impoverished countries in Africa. After the end of this program she interned for two months in Financial Times. She published several articles in finance and economics. In summer of 2012 Humay returned to Baku and started to work at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan Republic. She mainly prepared analytical briefs on monetary policy of other nations banks of world during her tenure in CBAR. In 2014 Humay started to cooperate with International Committee of the Red Cross. She worked as an ICRC delegate in Mariupol, Ukraine (2014-2015) and Bambari, Central African Republic (2016-2017). In 2017, Humay enrolled in Creative Writing Program in Columbia University in order to improve upon her writing skills, something she had pursued passionately since her Bilkent years. However, after attending several classes, Humay dropped out of the program as she did not find formal education fitting her in this field. During her stay in New York she participated in several World Bank projects. in 2018 Humay was once again invited to continue her mission with ICRC. She became a Protection Team delegate in ICRC office in Sloviansk, Ukraine. She was awarded with For Merit to the Ukrainian Armed Forces medal due to her diligent work to better POW conditions. Humay started her final mission in November, 2019 as Civilian Protection Team Leader in Medellin, Columbia. She tragically passed away on March 13th, 2021 in Medellin.

Humay passed through our life like a shooting star. Sometimes I think that we were the least affected by the warmth, positive energy, sense of joy, and inner peace of this shooting star. Besides short breaks, Humay spent most of her short life away from her Motherland and from us. Humay studied at Bilkent University (Türkiye) and Columbia University (New York), worked at the D.C. office of the World Bank, went back to New York for yet another (unfinished) graduate degree, was stationed for seven years in various ICRC missions in Ukraine, Central African Republic, and Colombia. She traveled across four continents. She was eager to witness and embrace different cultures.. Humay became a truly global citizen as she mastered English, French, Spanish, Turkish, and Russian. Not only she knew them, she professed a deep understanding of the literature and culture that originated in these languages. Humay had a special talent for bonding with people from different backgrounds. When she was a kid, I read to Humay a novel by South Azerbaijani writer Samad Behrangi, called "A Little Black Fish". A black little fish, the hero of this novel, who defied the odds to travel to the ocean from the pond she was living in, became Humay's role model. I called her sometimes "my black little fish" due to her eagerness to learn and witness something new and her fondness for new experiences and adventures. Alas, her life ended just like in this story. She was absorbed by a merciless world just like a black little fish that was trying to reach the ocean. Humay had every chance for a settled, comfortable life. Instead, she was looking for challenges, resisting our reasonings. As if she was seeking out peace in the storms, if I may quote Lermontov. Everyone - friends, family, relatives, etc. loved Humay due to her sincerity and her kind heart. But Humay was not content with that. She was trying to embrace as many people as possible with her self-sacrificing love and kindness. That is why she took on ICRC missions in dangerous parts of the world. Humay's loss created a terrible void in our lives. I understood that she was one of the most powerful lifelines which connected me to the world. Humay's death was a tragic loss not only to our family but to our people as well. With her knowledge, skills, work ethic, and sense of mission she could have done much more for her Motherland. Previously I thought that Humay is known mainly as my daughter. But during the terrible March of 2021, I realized that thousands of people, especially young ones, know and respect me due to Humay. I always thought Humay would take care of my writings and legacy. But alas, due to the tragic turn of events, I have to do that for her instead. As a family, we are proud of Humay. Humay will continue to live in our hearts forever. Her memory will live on because she touched so many hearts with her noble deeds, her love, and her kindness.

Vilayet Guliyev