By Fiona Flowers

The UMCP UNICEF Club partnered alongside UMD Share and the Helping Hands Club, two campus social advocacy groups, to host a hygiene kit packing event on Thursday in an effort to  provide resources and relief to victims of Cyclone Mocha in Bangladesh.

UMCP UNICEF is one of over 120 collegiate chapters across the nation established to promote social advocacy and humanitarianism among undergraduate students, as cited by UNICEF USA. Through education, volunteer work and fundraising, promoting social justice is the club’s central mission. 

“As the official UNICEF chapter here at the University of Maryland, College Park, we are dedicated to empowering students hailing from different backgrounds to help combat global inequities,”  said Nicola Sarausa, a senior majoring in general biology with a minor in human development, who serves as co-president of UMCP UNICEF. 

Cyclone Mocha, a category five tropical storm that hit Bangladesh in May, is tied as the strongest recorded in the North Indian Ocean. Responsible for destroying homes and cutting off access to water and electricity, it reaped significant damage upon Rohinga refugee communities residing in the city of Cox, as emphasized by UNICEF club members during the introduction of the event. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations reported at least 145 casualties, and 1.2 million were displaced. 

The UNICEF event took place at the Art-Sociology Building, where club members and volunteers made packages of hygiene items to distribute to displaced families. The Helping Hands Club is responsible for the global shipment of the packages, which consisted of items including toothbrushes, baby bottles, feminine products, socks and soap. Some of the items were provided by UMD Share, while others were purchased using the nearly $700 the club earned from their most recent bake sale. By the end of the event, 69 packages were ready for distribution.

Fiza Sukhera, a sophomore majoring in information systems and international business, serves as outreach coordinator and co-president for UNICEF. She explained that aiding those in Bangladesh aligns with the club’s central mission, and shared how the partnership with Helping Hands and UMD Share made the event such a success.

“The three main elements of UNICEF are education, fundraising, and advocacy. We like educating members on local volunteer opportunities, and also global issues around the world,” Sukhera said.  “We just had an advocacy blog on the issue of Bangladesh, so it ties into the event today.” 

Mymy Nguyen, a senior majoring in general biology and minoring in human development who serves as co-president of the club, said that observing the destruction in Bangladesh inspired the chapter to incorporate more large-scale events and volunteer opportunities into their mission. 

“From the very beginning, we knew that we wanted to make this event one of our larger-scaled ones to help the children and their families that have been exposed to Mocha’s destruction,” Nguyen said. 

Kayla Song, a sophomore majoring in criminology and psychology, is not a current member of the UNICEF club, but attended the event as a volunteer. She said that volunteer work should be more ingrained into the UMD undergraduate experience as a means to increase global awareness, as it is easy for college students to get stuck in a bubble. 

“I think it’s through events like these that help us to expand our empathy for issues that affect the global community, especially communities that don’t have as much privilege,” she said. 

Rachel Park, a sophomore nursing student, echoed Song’s sentiment and expressed her enthusiasm for participating in future UNICEF events. 

“It’s important to be aware of third world countries, or any place dealing with cyclones or other natural disasters, especially when we have the luxury to help them,” she said. 

For more information on UMCP UNICEF, visit https://marylandunicef.umd.edu/. UMD Share and UMD Helping Hand can be found on Instagram at @umdshare and @helpinghandatumd. 

Featured Image: Items assembled for packaging and distribution at the UMCP UNICEF packaging event on Thursday, Oct. 12. Photo by Fiona Flowers