Solomon Elhindi was a small boy with a big smile, a hearty laugh and a fondness for telling jokes, pulling pranks on his friends and loudly sharing random thoughts with classmates. He brightened up his classes at Winona Middle School, where he was in the eighth grade, by doing such stunts as an impromptu yoga session or a rap battle.
Solomon was involved in just about every extracurricular activity possible in Winona, so he was well-known and well-liked. His father and mother were too. Mohamed Elhindi is the chairman of the Winona school board and chief information officer for the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. His mother, Carol, is a librarian at Winona State University. They were a tight family who valued education and community involvement. Solomon was 14, with a bright life ahead of him.
Except few knew that Solomon had also become depressed. In December, he began having anxiety about keeping up with his studies. It was bad enough that he was checked into inpatient treatment at a hospital and prescribed antidepressants.
In January, after returning home, Solomon took his own life.
Since then, his family has been grieving, and trying to figure out how to respond to such a tragedy. Recently, Mohamed announced that he would step down from the school board to start a nonprofit that will increase awareness of suicide prevention, mental health and diversity, particularly in rural areas where help is scarce.
Mohamed had just arrived in the Republic of Sudan, the country where he was born and now has volunteer projects, when he got the call that Solomon had died. He rushed back home to Winona to find that neighbors had poured in to help. They were cleaning the house and cooking food.
"Our family and friends were amazing," said Carol. "They just came in and took care of us. It was wonderful."
At a time of suspicion toward Muslims, Mohamed said he and his family have been embraced by the community. He was elected to the school board twice, the last time without opposition.