How can I foster my students to be changemakers over the summer?
A resource to inspire students or teachers to be changemakers.
I sat down with the inspiring Hamza Ghandour last week to talk to him about his story. How did a business degree graduate turn around and dedicate his life to social work?
Hamza is a trainer and facilitator with Initiatives of Change: a worldwide movement dedicated to the transformation of society through changes in human motives and behaviour, starting with their own.
Just like most of us, when Hamza graduated university with his bachelor’s degree in business, he faced a tough time in the job market. When he first heard of Initiatives of Change he, unfortunately, missed the deadline to apply for an internship opportunity. So he took a year off, and found time to focus on himself: to think, reflect and run! It was through this period that Hamza realised what he wanted in life… “that year was crucial in preparing me for what I would find within IOfC.”
According to Hamza, “Initiatives of Change came about because the movement founder, Frank Buchman felt there was a need for greater morals and spirituality: to practice love and being hate-free,” The movement focuses on and highlights the notion of being the change you wish to see in the world, by focusing on 4 core values: purity, honesty, unselfishness and love as a compass to a personal roadmap. In addition, IofC emphasises the importance of reflection or ‘quiet time’ where you bring back personal awareness that you may lose in your current speedy life.
Initially, Hamza ventured into IOfC with the intention of travelling and discovering new opportunities. “I didn’t realise it would become a lifestyle. It wasn’t until the flight back home after the internship that I had the opportunity to reflect and realise I wanted to be a part of the volunteer program”.
I asked Hamza about his early stages of volunteering. When he was younger, he often engaged in small acts of kindness, but he never had the opportunity to be a ‘real volunteer.’ It wasn’t something his school or university fully engaged in. He believes if he had been given the opportunity to start volunteering earlier, it would have positively impacted his life. “At university, I had lots of free time but didn’t realise volunteering would directly impact my growth and allow me to give back to a community”.
The other ways that volunteering benefited Hamza was by being active on a social level; he became more responsible and active in making solutions for society. For Hamza, “volunteering was also a way to connect with the world and interact with people from different backgrounds”.
Inspired by Hamza, I wondered how many students were waiting to tap into their potential or journey of self-discovery, so I gathered a list of ways you can encourage your students to volunteer or engage in small acts of kindness, or be more socially responsible in order to become a changemaker.
- Stationery collection drive
With the end of the term being near, don’t throw away your old stationary, rulers or erasers! Organisations such as Education4All repurpose old stationery for students from underprivileged backgrounds. Alternatively, you can look into donating the stationary to other local charity schools or organisations.
In 2013 I hosted a stationery collection drive within my school and successfully donated lots of leftover stationery to children in India.
2. Volunteer with Initiatives of Change
If you’re just as inspired as I am with Hamza’s story, IOfC has several ways you can get involved. The website suggests ways you can volunteer with the movement, donate and even discusses how you can start with yourself.
3. Spend your summer working towards future charity events
If none of the other options is feasible, take this free time to plan events that you can implement in the next academic year or when lockdown eases in your country. You can spend this time getting in touch with local charities to plan events or fundraisers and get more people involved. Start social media campaigns or make posters to advertise the event/fundraiser in the upcoming months.
4. Random Acts of Kindness
Whilst the ‘random act of kindness’ movement had its phase a few years ago, why not bring it back with a kind note on your neighbour’s door. How about paying for someone’s coffee? Check out this resource for a list of more extensive acts of kindness including a kindness calendar for each day of the month.
In 2014, I encountered a young girl making her way around the Dubai Metro with a sign saying ‘Life is Beautiful’ as her act of kindness for the day.
5. Monetary Donations
If feasible, donating money to good causes is always a good way to give back to the community. Especially during the current circumstances families, individuals and small businesses may be struggling to make ends meet. Look into reliable sources that will allow you to connect with people looking for some help or start shopping from small local businesses.
6. Host online classes of special skill you may have:
Calligraphy? Crochet? Sewing?
If you have a skill then take advantage of it! Host sessions online for free and spread a new talent into the world. It can be as easy as teaching someone how to tie a tie!
7. Donate resources
Have a good old quarantine clean out! Spend this summer clearing out the things you no longer use. Yes, that includes the old mug at the back of your cupboard and the pair of sunglasses you only wore once. Grab a big bag and donate it all to your local charity.
You might be surprised, the items you thought were no use are now recyclable for better causes, for example, a movement in Scotland donates old bra’s to women in Africa and across the UK.
8. Become one with nature!
Plant a tree and release some more oxygen into this world. It can be as easy as ordering some seeds online, or grow your own seedlings from the leftovers of tonight’s salad! Not only have you picked up a beautiful hobby but are also being sustainable and giving back to mother nature.
If you want to take it one step further, donate your extra growings to people who cannot afford their fruits and vegetables.
9. Donate blood
Donating blood to those in need or the world blood bank is a unique way of giving back to people who are struggling with their health. Make sure you have your parents permission and that you are of suitable donating age. Be sure to consult your local GP to ensure you are eligible for donating.
10. Foster or adopt an animal
With summer approaching, spend your free time fostering a sweet fluffy friend who’s in need of a loving home and some belly rubs!
Alternatively, if you can’t host a furry friend, look at ways you can help at your local shelter, whether it’s driving a pet to its new home, donating some food or going on a walk!
You might end up with a little chihuahua who steals all your blankets!
11. Attend a first aid course
Attending a first aid course is a skill set that will provide you with life long value. In the long term, first aid training is a course that several organisations look for in volunteers which may be useful for when lockdown eases in your country.
Hamza left me with one final thought — “To be honest, we reached a time where we are all struggling, you will find challenges in different places, but if we look at the bigger picture we will see we are all struggling, for example, at one point, COVID 19 stopped the world because we are all connected, our actions are interlinked and so it is important to take the time to reflect on our daily actions and interactions”
He adds that as a community we need to reflect on “what is the world we want the future generation to take over from us? This can be a question for a student, a graduate or an elder person. Our world is for all of us, if we keep going this way, it’ll affect us all in the same way”.
Whilst 2020 has been full of surprises and hiccups, we can still encourage our friends and students to be changemakers. Let the summer holidays pave the way for volunteering and giving back to be a part of a student’s weekly goals, after all, as Hamza says;
“In the end, we are all humans.”
