Dalhousie student Zeen Ali felt inspired by her own experience as a child with a critical illness to launch a new student society to raise money, gather volunteers, and spread awareness for Make-A-Wish Canada, a national charity that creates life-changing wishes for children between the ages of 3 and 17.
When she was just eight-years-old, Syrian-born Zeen was diagnosed with Nephronophthisis — a kidney disease that required transplant surgery and for which her father's kidney was a match.
“Getting the diagnosis at eight-years old was really rough. The health-care system is bad in Syria because of the war. We had to visit so many doctors and do so many tests until they actually found out what was wrong with me,” she says.
Getting the diagnosis at eight-years old was really rough.
Zeen and her family fled to Turkey in hopes of getting surgery there but could not afford it because medical costs were not covered for refugees. Going home was not an option at that point, so they sought a transfer elsewhere, eventually getting matched in Canada.
“By the time we were travelling here, I had no energy. I was either sleeping or sitting. I couldn't eat or anything, so I was basically being carried by my dad everywhere,” she says, noting she received dialysis — a medical treatment that filters harmful materials in the blood when a person's kidneys stop working properly — for about a year.
After getting her transplant, a social worker at the IWK told Zeen’s parents about Make-A-Wish. “We applied, and then it all happened.”
Zeen’s wish was a shopping spree, “as any 17-year-old would love to have.”
“I made a long list of everything I wanted, and I was going back and forth with the wish coordinator picking dates and then one day, two volunteers from Make-A-Wish came and pulled a limo up in front of my house, and my family and I hopped in. We got to explore the city and go shopping.”
Zeen, centre, with Make-a-Wish Canada volunteers.
A big "band geek" throughout middle school and high school, Zeen’s big wish item was a brand new, good quality, professional flute.
Also as part of her wish, Zeen got to meet with Casey Granofsky of Symphony Nova Scotia and got a one-on-one flute lesson from her.
Building a campus community
Zeen started the Dal society with fellow Dal student Angel Womack to raise awareness for Make-A-Wish, while also hoping to connect other Make-A-Wish children with each other.
“That’s exactly what happened at the society expo," she says, referring to the Orientation Week event where student societies look for new recruits.
“So many students would walk by me at my table and tell me they were a Make-A-Wish kid, or their sister was a Make-A-Wish kid, and it was just really beautiful to see,” says Zeen.
The Dalhousie Make-A-Wish Society is in close contact with Make-A-Wish Canada to organize fundraisers, have guest speakers from Make-A-Wish Canada speak at society meetings, and help students interested in volunteering get matched up with various events, such as “Trees of Joy.”
It’s not just for me, it's for other children who didn’t make it to the day where they could thank Make-A-Wish.
One day, Zeen and Angel hope to be able to fully sponsor a specific child’s wish. “That’s definitely a long-term goal,” says Zeen
“Being able to give back is very full circle and emotional because it’s not just for me, it's for other children who didn’t make it to the day where they could thank Make-A-Wish.”
Zeen and Angel intend to host various fundraisers for Make-A-Wish through their society, with a potential Halloween bake sale to kick it off this month. More information can be found on their Instagram, @dalhousiemakeawish.