With 12 years of volunteering, a young Muslim woman won the youth service award at Thursday’s Windsor Islamic Council awards ceremony.
“I started 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,” Zeinab Ahmed told CBC Saturday.
“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.”
Starting to volunteer for the mosque when she was just 14, the now 26-year-old young woman overcame different challenges thanks to a supporting Muslim community.
“I remember when I was younger I got bullied. I was the only girl who wore a hijab in my entire school,” she recalled.
“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.”
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. (Sanjay Maru/CBC)
Helping Youth
Ahmed wants to pay back to society by supporting Muslim youth overcome the challenges they encounter.
“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,” she said.
Ahmed received the award during the 8th Annual Community Appreciation Dinner.
The annual event recognizes the leaders and dedicated volunteers of the Muslim community, as well as the valuable community partners, organizations, and agencies, who have helped the Muslim community grow.
This year’s event was held on Thursday, August 29 at the Ciociaro Club, Windsor, Ontario.
Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey estimated Muslims in Canada to be around 1,053,945, or about 3.2% of the population, making Islam the second-largest religion in the country after Christianity.
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