Philanthropy has always been a driving force in the lives of UBC students and sisters Alia and Salina Dharamsi. Photo courtesy of Alia and Salina Dharamsi.

Philanthropy has always been a driving force in the lives of both Alia and Salina Dharamsi.

As part of an immigrant population in Vancouver, the two sisters were encouraged by their parents to volunteer in the Ismaili community and raise their voice from a very early age. The pair has taken the pay-it-forward ethos and transferred it into the hustle and bustle of school and work life by engaging in a variety of volunteer experiences in the local and international community.

“When I was growing up, I had this very innate sense of justice and fairness,” said younger sister Salina, a Sauder graduate. “Helping out in the community and going on international service trips was my way to contribute to some really global problems. I didn’t just want to read about hunger; I wanted to go and see people.”

The two sisters have been around the world for their extracurriculars. Salina has volunteered in Guatemala, India and Rwanda. She was also a student delegate at the Peace Conference of Youth in Japan, a program aimed at leaders who want to achieve world peace. Alia went to Guatemala and taught English and science to the local community there.

“I noticed that a lot of the same issues that I was seeing here, for example in the Downtown Eastside, were really replicated internationally,” said Alia, who is in her fourth year of medicine at UBC.

Where Alia sees herself in the field of emergency medicine, Salina is more business-minded. She is completing her masters in accounting at the University of Saskatchewan, aspiring to become a chartered accountant. She is also working full time with the firm KPMG as an auditor and hopes to work in sustainability auditing.

While the two Dharamsis have chosen to pursue different career paths, their sisterly bond has always been intact and even helps with their volunteering project. Alia said while she was director of the Meal Exchange Organization in the Downtown Eastside, Salina contributed to the financial planning of the project.

Despite their varying interests and being two years apart, Alia has been an inspiration to younger sister Salina.

“I think for me it showed me that it’s possible. It was real because she was my sister and she lived five steps away from me and if she could do it, I could do it too,” said Salina.

“We have the distinct privilege of being sisters because what that comes with is someone who is by our side 100 per cent of the time, be it in volunteering, in school, in play,” said Alia. “I think that’s an advantage. That is a blessing and a gift that has allowed us to grow in ways we could not have done alone.”

Pressures in applying to highly sought after programs, jobs and internships in fields like medicine and commerce can leave students resorting to “resumé padding” to stay competitive. But both Alia and Salina emphasized seeing volunteering as an opportunity for personal development rather than a means to fill up space on a resumé.

“There is so much more to volunteering than writing a line on a resumé. Sometimes when I write my resumé I feel like it does not [do it] justice. I feel like it’s letters on page that don’t really capture the experience,” said Salina.

Alia says volunteer experience should be anchored in your passions and interests.

“Don’t look at someone and think what they’re doing is so unattainable,” Salina said. “Everything you do snowballs in life and I’m such a firm believer in that. You start small and as you go you find new ways to get involved — different indicatives, bigger roles.”

November 27, 2013

Trying to solve some of the planet’s most complex and intractable humanitarian problems by teaching people accountancy skills isn’t as far-fetched as it might sound. Salina already has first-hand experience of how it can work.During her undergraduate degree, Salina took part in the Arc Initiative, a project that facilitates a two-way exchange of knowledge and business skills between Sauder students and communities in South Africa, Ethiopia and Colombia. She travelled to Johannesburg to take part in building programs, internships, workshops and mentoring activities for young entrepreneurs.

“As a co-op student I was able to represent both Sauder and my company (KPMG) at the same time,” says Salina. “It’s amazing to see how quickly business and accounting skills can make a tangible difference in these communities.”

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“A lot of people have a very old-fashioned view of what accountants are. They think that we’re just bean-counters. But when you understand the financial implications of things you can dramatically increase the potential for positive change.”

– Sauder BCom alumna Salina Dharamsi

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In tune with students

Salina now divides her time between her many charitable projects, her auditing job at KPMG in Vancouver and studying for a Masters in Professional Accounting.

Among her many accolades so far she has been a youth ambassador for World Vision Canada and a panelist and youth facilitator for two United Nations debates in New York and Geneva. She was also the sole Canadian student delegate, representing both her country and the Sauder School of Business, at the Peace Conference of Youth held in Japan in 2012.

According to Salina, Sauder was the perfect place to develop her skills and experience in both business and international development.

“The faculty are so in tune with their students and have this incredible ability to match them with amazing opportunities for personal and professional growth.” she says. “A lot of people have a very old-fashioned view of what accountants are. They think that we’re just bean-counters. But when you understand the financial implications of things you can dramatically increase the potential for positive change. For me accounting is more than just a job – these are skills that can actually transform peoples’ lives.”

Giving back

Salina’s enthusiasm for community service and international development resulted in her being awarded a BC Community Achievement Medallion and a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. And now her alma mater has got in on the act, recognizing her achievements with the UBC Future Alumnus Award.

“It’s made me see how many ways there are to stay involved with the university and give back to the community that did so much for me,” Salina says. “For the award to go to a business student is a great credit to Sauder as well. People assume that you go to business school only because you want to make money. But there are a lot of people at Sauder who really do care about finding ways to build sustainable communities around the world. It really shines a light on what our business school is all about.”

Salina Dharamsi epitomizes the volunteer spirit in her quest to help children.

For eight years, the 22-year-old has been a friend to kids at Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, taught nutrition in the Downtown Eastside and tutored youth with learning disabilities.

Her extensive volunteering is fuelled by a sense of fairness, she said, and has earned her a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

“When children are diagnosed with a terminal illness so early, it just isn’t fair,” said the Vancouverite. “No one deserves to die before their 20th birthday. I wanted to contribute in some way.”

As one of roughly 350 Canuck Place volunteers, Dharamsi works reception and directly with kids. She’s given “hundreds and hundreds of hours of service,” said Leanne Freeman, the organization’s volunteer and services director.

“Salina’s working very frontline,” she said. “She companions the kids, she plays and does activities with them. It requires somebody who’s fun and has initiative, but it’s also about being a good listener, being able to read and judge the mood of the children.”

As Dharamsi guides 24 hours around the luxurious Shaughnessy gardens outside the distinctive turreted hospice, she crouches inside a warped Gaudí-esque playhouse and shows off a wheelchair-accessible merry-go-round.

“Basically, it’s being a friend to children in need,” she explained. “The older kids will talk to you about their problems.

“They often just need somebody to listen to them, not to sympathize with them, but just to be a friend.”

Freeman explained volunteers contribute around 23,000 hours annually.

“It’s staggering,” she said. “They bring time, skills and energy, but they’re also people with open hearts … Fundamentally, Salina brings such a gentle, calm, caring approach to her work.”

Azmina Dharamsi accompanied her daughter, Future Alumnus Award recipient Salina, to the awards gala. The commerce student was selected as one of six youth ambassadors for World Vision Canada and participated in a leadership forum with Rwandan, Tanzanian and Congolese youth.

Photograph by: Fred Lee, for The Province

http://www.theprovince.com/Fred+Social+Network/9200773/story.html

Salina Dharamsi, BCom’13

Future Alumnus Award

What a pleasure it was volunteering at the Vancouver Food bank recently. With sixteen LOT members in attendance, we were determined to represent the LOT program as a group full of enthusiasm, and help to the best of our ability. With donations having decreased 7%, and its customer base increasing by 10%, the Food Bank definitely had its work cut out for them this season. The daily routine at the Food Bank ranges from sorting canned goods to checking expiry dates. We found the toughest chore to be finding expiry dates, and were surprised to discover a few cans and packages that had expired in 1978!

It was a pleasure meeting and working with Vanessa, the Food Bank’s Warehouse Food Sorting Coordinator, who helped guide us through our tasks, and inspired and pushed us every step of the way. As a team, we were able to sort and package enough goods to feed 500 people and provide 170 emergency packs to each family that comes into the Food Bank. It was rewarding to work as a team with a common purpose, and we definitely grew as a committee as the day went on. We were pleased to note that many of the donations consisted of healthy foods. More importantly, we recognized how vital donations are to the Food Bank given the staggering number of people who come to the Food Bank every month and rely on their assistance.  Overall, it was a wonderful experience for us as individuals and as a team. We hope to maintain a strong relationship with the Vancouver Food Bank and continue to pursue volunteering opportunities in the near future.

Article By: Chris Paredes

Salina works with Gene Simmons to raise funds for the Variety Show of Hearts Telethon!

From February 16 to February 17th Variety, the Children’s Charity, held their 47th annual Show of Hearts Telethon at the Red Robinson Show Theatre. The telethon hosts multiple local personalities, amazing stories and miracles from children with special needs, as well as great entertainment.

The telethon runs for 24 hours, accepting calls from donors at all hours of the day. Leaders of Tomorrow Volunteers were fortunate enough to answer phones late into the night on Saturday to accept donations from callers. After a quick instructional video about telephone protocol and filling out donation forms, we were posted at our phone stations. With phones ringing, we were able to contribute to the $7,124,264 total at the end of the weekend!

Variety helps in multiple ways- they support hospitals with services, care, and equipment to save lives, and support those in need. They offer mobility, communication, and experiences in the form of financial assistance to assure children have the equipment they need to communicate and get around. They offer education and social events to better the futures of children. They provide safe and reliable transportation to and from school, recreation and therapy. Variety also assists many other BC organizations such as the YMCA and the Royal Columbian hospital foundation. The money raised from the telethon aids all of Variety’s initiatives.

Members of the LOT program are very thankful for being part of this amazing event, and hope to participate again next year!

This event was presented by the Vancouver Board of Trade’s Leaders of Tomorrow Program.

Article by: Nathalie Pellizari