Charity’s student network allows young volunteers to give back to society

Young people have jumped at the chance to give something back to society - by volunteering for a charity that funds operations for children born with cleft lips and palates.

Kyla Cromey-Hawke, volunteer coordinator at Operation Smile UAE, believes youngsters will find helping the charity fun as well as rewarding. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Abu Dhabi // Young people are proving age is no barrier to giving back to society – and are putting a smile on children’s faces in the process.

Volunteers between the ages of 13 and 25 are joining a student network launched by Operation Smile UAE, a children’s charity that recruits medical volunteers and funds surgery for those affected by cleft lips and palates.

“The student network is a platform for students to develop fund-raising and awareness events, obviously under the watchful eye of Operation Smile UAE,” said Kyla Cromey-Hawke, 23, volunteer coordinator at the charity.

The network was set up this month in response to demand from students who were finding limited opportunities to volunteer because of their age, she said.

“Originally, a version of the student network was developed because I was getting a lot of student volunteers wanting to volunteer their time with Operation Smile and I wasn’t able to cope with that amount of students,” Ms Cromey-Hawke said.

“What a lot of the students were finding was that there are a few different volunteering organisations now in the UAE that weren’t there before – I certainly didn’t have them when I was growing up here.

“But they were all putting age restrictions of 16 or 18 and above, and you had younger students who were desperate to get community action and service hours or Duke of Edinburgh hours.”

Sixteen students are members of the network and make up the organising body. They plan events and get other young people involved in helping out. This could mean spreading awareness through talking to visitors at the charity’s stands or running children’s activities, such as face painting, to raise money.

The charity’s UAE office is in Abu Dhabi but the volunteers can come from across the country.

Haneen Al Noman, 17, the president of the student network, seized the opportunity to get involved.

“I heard about it and I was very surprised that such an organisation was actually in Abu Dhabi,” said Haneen, who is from Yemen and has lived in Abu Dhabi for six years. “We don’t really get organisations, or things like that, that allow students to actually get involved.

“I have always been interested in volunteering, ever since I was in grade 9. It’s something to fill my time and actually give back and help people and do something for others.”

Her role comes with responsibilities, such as coordinating volunteers, supervising, planning events with others and communicating with people from external organisations, such as venue managers, to help make those events happen.

“I feel like it helps both the young people and the community that we live in,” she said of the network.

One successful student-led fundraiser was a Battle of the Bands in April at Zayed Sports City.

Organised by three secondary school students, it raised enough money for nine operations, which cost nearly Dh900 each.

“Students are more than willing to donate. Obviously you need to find the right event for them, and students are the best ones to know what the right event is,” said Ms Cromey-Hawke, a Briton who grew up in the UAE.

She believes young people have a lot to offer, especially given their high energy levels, and will find the work fun as well as a good opportunity to meet others.

Volunteering is good for their CVs, and ultimately careers, because they develop a range of skills and enjoy different experiences, she said. Their efforts also show creativity, people skills and teamwork.

“It’s always quite refreshing to see a student, or a younger person at least, telling you about a charity and being so proactive and enthusiastic about a charity. It’s quite infectious,” Ms Cromey-Hawke said.

The number of volunteering opportunities for young people in the UAE is growing but this is not well-known, she said.

“You do have to search for it, especially if you are a student. With those age restrictions being put on, there are not very many volunteering opportunities for younger students to get involved with and quite often volunteer organisations will prefer to take on adult volunteers, rather than student volunteers,” she said.

To find out more about the student network, email [e-mail]