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Zeinab Ahmed's 12 years of volunteering with Windsor Muslims
9-04-2019
Zeinab Ahmed won the youth service award at Thursday's Windsor Islamic Council awards ceremony, after starting to volunteer for the mosque when she was just 14.
She spoke with the CBC's Sanjay Maru about her experience and what winning the award means.
Talk to me about the road to getting here?
I starting volunteering in the community when I was 14 years old, so my first year of high school. I was just a random volunteer for the youth committee of the mosque. Over the years, I really enjoyed it, so I got more and more involved. I helped do a lot of programs and events, like summer camp.
I took on more leadership roles as time went by and I eventually became a youth director. Then when I was in undergrad, I was very involved with the University of Windsor [Muslim Student Association].
I did a lot of other things in the community, including volunteering with the Somali community of Windsor as a tutor, helping establish the Windsor Youth Council, an umbrella organization for Windsor Muslim youth. I just tried to help with whatever they needed.
What have been some of the biggest challenges you've faced?
A lot of times it's just that young people are very busy. Trying to get people to do things can be a bit difficult. When I was a youth director, I had a lot of plans that I wanted to do, but it was hard finding people who could help run the programs. A lot of the people who had experience with running programs were busy and it was purely volunteer based.
Trying to create that system where we had enough people to make it successful ... that was sometimes a challenge.
How crucial is the community around you in fostering who you've become?
I remember when I was younger I got bullied. I was the only girl who wore a hijab in my entire school.
When I started getting involved in the community at 14, that was a huge part of making me who I am today. And that's one of the reasons I was so involved — it made me feel like I was at home, like I felt I belonged. I felt like I could grow as a person and I could become a leader. I had a place where I could be me.
When I got older, that was what I wanted to establish for younger girls, to let them grow up into who they are.
How will you be using this award to bolster the rest of the community here in Windsor?
I'm very much about investing in youth and providing mentorship. i think it's important to show youth that they can get awards like this — that it's not just older people who get recognition.
In the last 12 years, since you started volunteering, what have been a few moments that really stood out to you?
A girl came up to me a couple years ago and she told me the reason she started volunteering was because of a talk I gave about leaving a legacy behind. I thought 'Wow, I can actually make an impact on people's lives.'
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