Team Dima is a community organisation that inspires to build sustainable projects, run educational and health programmes for underprivileged children all around the world and Bracelets for Change.
This all started in 2013, I was in my last class for the day and my teacher said there’s a volunteering trip to Borneo, Malaysia is anyone here going? No one knew about it!
Q: You have been changing lives all across the globe. Where and when did this start?
She then said today is the last day anyone could sign up to go! I looked at Mary, my twin sister and I was like “we’re going!” The bell rang and there we were signing our names… fast forward around a week and the teacher in charge of the trip sent out an email for students who signed up to head to the gymnasium for an assembly. She told us that to go on this trip we would have to fundraise £4000 in 18 months each and I mean that wasn’t going to stop me and Mary from going! Now, the number of students that signed up was 75, then the number went down to 35 to eventually 7 of us who made the amount including me and Mary! During that time, I learned so much and how I can make a difference in a community. I also firmly began to believe that I could use my talent (which is making bracelets) to support my choice in volunteering in different parts of the world. I was becoming a person who could speak the language of her mission to get people to support and learn how they too can make a difference. While in Malaysia, I took part in building an educational Centre, kindergarten and an environmental rejuvenation project in the Bornean rainforest. Working alongside the community changed my viewpoint on life forever. Since then, I have had a passion for advocating for children and youth. In addition, I have worked in countries like Kenya, Lebanon, India, Ecuador, South Korea, and more on my own empowering and building projects.
When I returned I did a lot of volunteering for several organisations as well as studied politics and international relations to understand why the world was the way it was but at the same time, I always wanted to do Team DIMA Global at the back of my head. So, in 2016, Mary (my twin sister) and I founded Team DIMA Global, a community organisation that is about getting young people inspired to volunteer and be agents of change – encouraging them to help one another and get out of their comfort zone – explore the world!
At Team DIMA Global, we mostly focus on underprivileged people from all around the world who are missing out on some basic needs, we then help build sustainable projects with the community to give them a chance at a good life with no limits! We are also advocates of education. We also help run health programmes like feeding programmes, providing sanitary products as well as educational programmes to ensure no child is left behind and realises their potential. Bracelets of Change are made by the girls and boys in different parts of the world who not only learn vital skills during their knit and chat classes, but they can use their time during mentorship programmes to learn and be a part of the change!
Q: You’ve been spreading positivity all around. What gives you the courage to keep working to change lives for the better?
I strongly believe that the work we do and the lives we touch at Team DIMA Global gives us the courage to keep doing what we are doing. Some things make me emotional in a good way. When the children in our partner schools do well in school by getting good grades, I get emotional because as we continue to deliver nutrients to school children that’s a testament to our feeding programme. When the kids come to the office to thank us for what we’ve done for them it truly makes my whole week! When you help feed a child, that feeling is unmatched, and you want to keep doing it!
Q: You care for the planet, people, and every small issue that needs to be looked after. You are the inspiration for youth today. What advice would you like to give youngsters?
I say find the opportunity to volunteer – look for an organisation with a mission you truly believe in because it will change your life! Don’t be shy to fundraise, it’s super fun and it allows you to spread the story behind the mission you believe into more people! Get out of your comfort zone – you don’t have to help everyone, but you can help someone! Remember… you don’t have to travel across the world to help, you can start where you are! Making someone’s heart smile is a gift that starts as a ripple and turns into a wave because there is no greater reward than to make a difference in someone’s life.
Q: Tell us about your hobbies that you enjoy practising in your free time.
When I have free time, I enjoy working on the Happy Listen-In podcast which is all about championing happiness, bringing inspiring stories and conversations to our listeners. I enjoy talking to my guests about their journey, be it a CEO, an actress, an athlete, woman in leadership – it’s all about giving advice and motivating our listeners! I want to have an encouraging and inspiring conversation, especially during these crazy times! The podcast gives me freedom and allows me to build connections along the way! I also love watching and playing sports especially fencing with Mary when we are both available!
Q: What has been your favourite place you have ever been to and what’s the reason behind that?
To be honest, I don’t think I have a favourite place! For example, Borneo was the first country I travelled to volunteer where we didn’t even speak the same language, but still managed to get on with the projects! In Ecuador, I helped build toilets and we got to experience the swing at the end of the world! In India, I worked on a project in the slums with the smartest kids and I even got to attend an Indian wedding! I have had so many different experiences in so many countries that I cherish and friends that I’ve made along the way. These once in a lifetime experiences will always have a special place in my heart!
Q: What are your future projects?
Would you like to give us a small glimpse of it? We would like to share a project in the works, we are working on launching a long-term project in Kenya to handle menstrual hygiene management and make sure every girl has access to period pads 365 days a year. This is our goal and the project is called ‘It’s Normal’. Period poverty is one of our main concerns and we are fighting to eradicate and get rid of this stigma behind it because It’s Normal. Girls should have access to period pads without having to face unnecessary barriers and be able to continue fulfilling their potential at school. Another project is building a new toilet for children in the community. The children have been struggling and so this is on top of our list this year!
Q: How was the feeling when you along with your sister were on the Renowned magazine survivors and thrivers list?
We felt very honoured and grateful that we were on the Forbes list of survivors and thrivers. The pandemic stopped so many children from our partner schools from even going to school because they did not have sanitary pads or basic nutrients, so we had to step it up and extend our programmes. It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of COVID but we were still able to make a difference!
Q: What is volunteering to you and would you like to do it for the rest of your life too?
I truly believe that the main prerequisite for volunteering is that you must have the heart to do it! I am the happiest when I am volunteering, so I do hope to be able to volunteer and encourage others to volunteer for as long as I’m able to. To be honest, whenever Mary and I are travelling, we have to incorporate some form of volunteering. Volunteering to us isn’t fluffy or glamourous it’s our way of living – being present on the ground! We try to put forward positive energy that connects us to the people we’re helping – an essential ingredient.
Q: Tell us something from your experiences of volunteering, or maybe a small incident that touched you deeply.
I think what used to touch me deeply is when the community would come together and put on a traditional performance at the end of the project. This is usually to thank us and to bless the project. For example, the fast bamboo dance in Malaysia, where they used bamboo sticks and wore beautiful outfits and even asked us to join in! Also, in the Amazon, the Kichwa community put on traditional outfits, danced and played Kichwa music. It fills your heart with so much joy to see how much the community appreciates what you’ve done for them.
Q: Any message you would like to give to those who look at you as a role model?
Well, be kind and help others because no one has ever made it through life without someone else’s help that’s for sure! Remember, you don’t have to go to the other side of the world to help someone, you can start little – offer your seat to someone, smile at people because you don’t know what someone else is going through. Leave that legacy – you want it to say, you did all you could! Every person can make a difference and every person should try!