On Friday 5th April 2013, Mediorite went behind the scenes of a promotional photo shoot with Khadija AbdelHamid!
As a part of Mediorite’s ‘Inspired to Inspire’ series we interviewed the inspirational Khadija AbdelHamid , an exceptionally determined young woman, who is dedicated to helping young people achieve their potential and overcome the negativity in their lives.
At only 22 years old, Khadija has accomplished creating her own campaign called U.N.I.T.Y. (Understanding. Negative. Issues. Towards. Youths) which is an anti-Gun and Knife organisation, established in 2011. It aims to provide awareness of Gun and Knife usage amongst the young generation, mainly in the inner city of London.
Here is the Interview!
What inspired you to create your campaign U.N.I.T.Y?
“From young age, I had the passion to change the world. When I studied History and learned about Martin Luther King I felt inspired by what he did. In 2007 I noticed that gun crime was on the rise and was getting worse. So in 2010, I applied to the Brent Youth Parliament. There are a maximum of 72 members and it is really difficult to become a member. Since there are 72, 000 people in Brent, each member of the Brent Youth parliament represents 1000 people in Brent. I was in charge of one of the five campaigns which was called Crime and Prevention and I also wrote for Brent’s newspapers in 2010, with the guidance and advice from my mentor who really helped me.”
How did you meet your mentor?
”In 2010, there was an event at the Brent Youth Parliament where I spoke about U.N.I.T.Y. After the talk there were loads of people who wanted to talk to me, so that’s how I met my mentor.”
How is it in parliament?
“I had a great experience and meet a lot of young people who are aspiring to be big who wanted to be majors, politicians – they had a lot of passionate. It was a really homely environment to be in. We had guests talk in parliament. The age range for being in parliament is 10 – 19 years old.”
What motivated you to pursue your career?
“I am a very determined person and I always like to see the end results. Whenever I see a young person in trouble I want to see them better themselves and reach their potential.”
What do you enjoy the most about your job?
“When I put my mind to something and see it come through. I always try to stay positive at all times. I enjoy interacting with young people on social media such as Facebook and like to give them my advice.”
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
“I will be going to uni this year to study Business Management so I will be able to make my project as successful as possible.”
What words of advice would you give to those who want to start their own project?
“It’s very difficult! It’s like starting a business but without keeping the money. I would say you should make a timetable. When I was working for YH World I created an article containing six steps to starting up a project. Also I would say you should have a mentor to help you out.
During my time as a part of Brent Youth Parliament I travelled to Europe and visited Amsterdam and Sweden for a media project. The project was about immigrants in the UK making positive changes to their lives through working in media. We made a plan and came with different ideas. People from all over Europe worked on project which was in 20th December 2012 and got 4 pages in the Metro newspaper.”
What would you tell your 18- year-old self if you could?
“I would say, “If you have haters, you’re doing something right” which is a quote by the rapper Eminem. Also I don’t use this often but I created something called the Four D’s = Doubters, Direction, Determination, Destination. I used to use this to help motivate myself when people would try to discourage me.”
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