First-year university student is changing lives through volunteering
Khatra Omar may be busy with her first year of university pursuing a nursing degree, but that hasn’t stopped her from becoming a Refugee Services volunteer and community leader in the Waikato. From supporting a Colombian family to working with the Women’s Organisation of the Waikato Muslim Association (WOWMA), Khatra’s already changed a lot of lives, and she isn’t even 20 yet.
“I love helping other people,” says Khatra when asked what drove her to volunteer with the Refugee Services programme. “One of the women I work with at WOWMA was volunteering with them, so when I saw the flyer, I decided to give it a go.”
A big day for Khatra was 22 February 2013, as the Colombian family she’s working with arrived in Hamilton for the first time and was welcomed by the community through a pōwhiri ceremony.
“You could see they were really enjoying the welcome,” says Khatra of the pōwhiri. “They must have learned the songs in Mangere because they were singing along. It was like they were already part of New Zealand.”
After the welcome, Khatra took the family to their new house, which she and her volunteer team had set up. Just seeing the look on their faces and how happy they were, it was wonderful, she says.
One of the funniest moments Khatra’s had with the family came the first time she took them to use a New Zealand ATM.
“They panicked when the machine took the card, so I had to assure them it was okay. Then I stepped back to let her put in her pin number, and didn’t realise she had put in the wrong pin a few times. After all that reassuring her, the machine took the card! Luckily the bank was next door, so I calmed her down and we went in and got a new one. In the end, they got the money and it all worked out.”
To people thinking about volunteering but not sure if it’s the right time, Khatra says, “It’s about finding the right balance. They’re a part of my life that’s always going to be there now, and if volunteers are stressing out about anything, the Refugee Services people are there to help. My co-volunteer Simone has also been great at helping me balance my time with the family and my studies, and now I have this sense of satisfaction of helping someone else, of having an impact on their life.”
Khatra’s certainly had plenty of practice balancing responsibilities. In addition to her studies and volunteering with Refugee Services, Khatra is also involved with WOWMA supporting young Muslim women in the Waikato.
Originally from Somalia, Khatra came to New Zealand with her family when she was just a baby. She’s familiar with the challenges many young Muslim women face balancing their culture and religion with wanting to engage in classic Kiwi activities.
“Most of them can’t do the co-ed school camps and activities, so we have all-girls camps and do activities like rock climbing and abseiling with them,” says Khatra. “Next we’ll be training other young women to become leaders of the group, so the programme can keep going.”
For Khatra, one of the best things about volunteering is how it gives her a sense of perspective about her own life.
“We can get carried away in our own lives, and we don’t think about what other people are going through,” she says.
“But when you volunteer or pay attention to what else is going on in the world and in other people’s lives, you really appreciate what you have and the things you take for granted. Volunteering is a good way of making you feel humble.”
If you'd like to learn more about volunteering with our Refugee Services programme, contact [email protected]