Introducing SMU UNICEF: An Interview with the Executive Team

Written by Natasha Fernandes

Thumbnail by Natasha Fernandes via Zoom

The world of today is ruthless in its pursuit of power and glory. Most of us have a burning desire to change the world, but very few know how to go about it. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is commissioned by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. The UNICEF campus club at Saint Mary’s University (SMU) wants to bring about change in their own way by lending a helping hand to those in need. SMU UNICEF is a body of post-secondary students who are grounded in the belief that they can take simple yet effective steps to help address issues related to the difficulties children face both here in Canada and overseas. 

I had the opportunity to interview the executive team of SMU UNICEF over Zoom, where I learned about their achievements, as well as the benefits of joining this society. The executive members who joined me for the interview were Crystal Witter (Student Advisor), Tiffany Jones (Secretary), Maya Shamoun (VP of Operations), Ameer Al-Eryani (VP of Finance), Rosamystica Salloum (Director of Marketing and Communications) and Zohra Muhammad (Volunteer Coordinator).

As the conversation flowed I began to understand the passion each executive member has for their society. I realized that what makes SMU UNICEF unique from other societies on campus is its shared passion for improving the lives of children. But beyond their mission, the executive team wholeheartedly agreed on the fact that being a part of such a vibrant society allowed them to grow to be better leaders and to form long-lasting relationships. As Maya Shamoun emphasized: 

“We create a lot of new relationships. We are of course helping children, but at the same time you gain numerous friends within the society itself, you gain innumerable perspectives and ideas. You learn ways to not just contribute to society, but also contribute to yourself. You learn how to manage your time and deal with different people (such as sponsors). You become more creative and you understand what you can or cannot do. I feel that is a very beneficial skill to have in life and I have gained this asset by especially being on the executive team.”

I asked the team if they could name one successful event in the past that they were proud of in terms of the way it was received, the number of attendees, and the mission of the event. The team members unanimously agreed on their in-person event  “Kick for Kids Soccer Tournament” on October 31st, 2020. This event was an amalgamation of athletics, charity, and fun, with the event providing participants with an opportunity to play a game of soccer with or against friends all while raising funds to help sponsor a child’s education. All proceeds were donated towards UNICEF Canada and UN Women’s project of sponsoring education for a young girl in the least developed country. The participation fee was 6 dollars, but participants were free to donate more. It was one of the biggest campus events SMU had for that academic term (as organizing in-person events was not easy) with over 100 attendees. The participants who attended were students or alumni from all over Halifax Regional Municipality. SMU UNICEF managed to raise a lot of money, and Scott Gray (Director of Athletics and Recreation at SMU) even asked them to host another similar event once the COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed. This event was also acknowledged by Salma Maliha Maisha, SMUSA’s Director of Societies and Engagement, in the article A Glimpse into the Health of Societies during the Pandemic: An interview with Salma Maliha Maisha as one of the social events that managed to successfully combat the challenges of COVID-19. 

As Rosamystica Salloum mentioned, 

“We wanted the participants to know that they do not need to be pro athletes to attend but it’s just for fun and it is for the kids and I think that message was heavily portrayed which allowed us to have optimal engagement. We also got really lucky with our cases being low at that time, hence we were able to maintain full safety and the necessary precautions on campus. I speak for the whole team when I say that it was probably our best event with an incredible turnout. We still have people asking us when we would be having the next one and if they could volunteer for it. I do feel that this event allowed many students to collaborate with SMU and opened the door for interaction, especially among the first-year students.”

Another successful SMU UNICEF event that Maya Shamou mentioned was the virtual Among Us Game Night event, which took place on November 20th, 2020. Despite being a virtual event, they managed to gather a lot of participants who interacted amongst themselves via Zoom. The event was a great way for all the attendees to communicate with each other even while being apart. Zohra Muhammad spoke to me more about the promotion of the event:

“The way we handled the promotion was by seeking the help of the volunteers. Because of COVID, they could not meet people physically, hence we used social media as our biggest tool for promotion. We asked the volunteers to re-post the event on their own social media to gain more hours as they do need 40 hours to get the UNICEF certificate. We asked the volunteers to invite anyone (as the event was open to all) they knew and we had an army of over 100 volunteers to assist us.” 

The volunteers proved to be instrumental in ensuring the event was a success. Zohra also mentioned how the volunteers have their personal WhatsApp group where they can connect and form resilient relationships. If you are interested in volunteering for SMU UNICEF (and by association, UNICEF Canada) and would like the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of children and youth all over the world, click here to register. Registration is always open and SMU UNICEF is always welcoming new and eager volunteers. There is a membership fee of $25.00 that includes the certificate and a T-shirt. The certificate, which is provided after 40 hours of volunteer work, can also be recorded on one’s co-curricular record and is extremely beneficial if one is considering working for UNICEF in the future. When I asked the executive team if they have any advice they would like to give other societies at SMU who are struggling to maintain morale and have events, Crystal Witters, who is in charge of hiring, said that: 

“Just from the leadership perspective, SMU UNICEF has very passionate and driven executive members handpicked by myself and Hassan Monzoor (the Founder and President). The first start to ensuring that a campus society remains successful is to have a structured and unified team that considers themselves as a family and from there the chain of command would flow into the volunteers.”

Ameer Al-Eryani, who is part of two societies (SMU UNICEF and the Arab Society) spoke about how cultural societies face a bigger barrier when it comes to event participation because of the restrictions placed by COVID-19; cultural societies thrive on in-person interaction. Ameer mentioned: 

“Cultural societies have it very hard. The Arab society has not done anything all year and we are currently inactive. I feel the biggest motivator that has pushed SMU UNICEF as a society is a fact that we share a common goal (of helping children) that far surpasses the restrictions we face.”

SMU UNICEF welcomes students from all majors and all backgrounds. It does not matter if you are in your first year or almost graduating. Societies on campus benefit from having younger members as they dictate a society’s future and longevity. For instance, Tiffany Jones is in her first year and is also the secretary of SMU UNICEF. I asked Jones if she had any advice for the budding first-year students who think they are too young to join a huge society like this to which she said, 

“Well personally I have a six-month-old baby, so the passion for helping children came very naturally to me because I have one. But I know most first-year students do not have babies so as far as they go, I feel it is a very unique experience to be extremely young and still make an impact. Coming around August I was terrified entering into a virtual university. It is really hard to make friends and outside of SMU UNICEF, I do not have much. I feel a lot of first-years face the same fears that I went through. The circle of SMU UNICEF goes beyond UNICEF and the members have been a constant support to me during my highs and lows. A lot of students would benefit from this connection.”

Among all the bustle of excitement, SMU UNICEF at its core remains a calm and relaxed society that wants to gather individuals passionate about changing the world one child at a time. They are always searching for aspiring volunteers and Board members to join the executive team. As Zahra Muhammad said about why students should join UNICEF, “the hardest step to do anything in life is to actually do it.” So my advice is, TAKE THE LEAP! Reach out now.

P.S: If you are a member or an executive of a campus society at SMU and would like to feature at the SMU Journal and have your opinions heard, you can email me at fernnash15@gmail.com and we can have a chat! I want to know more about your experience with societies here on campus, so reach out!

Claire Keenan