Meet Ryan Suleman. This dedicated humanitarian is the current president of UVic UNICEF club. Now in his third year at the University of Victoria, Ryan is studying biochemistry. He has been doing social work since middle school. Beside UNICEF, he also works with the Global Medical and Dental Brigades and has been involved in various projects to improve the health and hygiene conditions of children in poor countries. When he is not busy with school or social work, he enjoys travelling, teaching piano, playing sports or just hanging out with friends. Every summer, he tries to go back to Portugal to visit his family, and he loves the food and surfing there. His future plans are to attend either medical school or grad school!
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HC: What are the three words that you would use to describe yourself?
Ryan: “Determined, passionate, goal oriented.”
HC: How long have you been doing volunteer work for the society?
Ryan: “Since seventh grade. I fundraised for sending bed nets to Africa at that time and it really got me involved; it made me want to help people in unfortunate situations. It inspired me to get involved in this sort of work.”
HC: How did you get involved with UVic UNICEF?
Ryan: “I joined the UVic UNICEF in my second year. I really liked the club; the cause was good and it was a great group of people, so I loved working there. The following year, I applied for the position of… President, and I became Co-President with Cassandra. Later, I took over with Andy, and now I am by myself.”
    Ryan and his coworker Bri in Honduras with Global Medical and Dental Brigades- UVic Chapter
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HC: Tell us about some recent projects that you were involved with.
Ryan: “With UNICEF, we built an orphanage in Eastern Uganda, and we are also making homeless care packages with hygiene products and food and distributing them downtown [in Victoria, BC] at Our Place. Personally, I went to Honduras with the UVic chapter of Global Medical and Dental Brigades with twenty-eight people; we fundraised $14,000 CAD, bought meds, and took [them] to Honduras to distribute them among the people there.”
HC: Â How do you manage schoolwork and volunteering?
Ryan: “It’s hard sometimes, being organized and handling a lot of work; you have to know when to say NO. But I have a great team and they help me out a lot when it comes to planning fundraisers or organizing events, doing the paperwork… behind the scenes there’s a lot of paperwork. So, I’d say that’s how I manage: with the help of my team.”
HC: Is there any memorable event incident that you would like to share with us?
Ryan: “So…when [we] went to Honduras, [we saw] a lot of poverty down there, and we were seeing a lot of patients who were in very bad conditions…there was a specific incident where we were in Charla, and a lot of kids did not know how to brush their teeth… they had horrible dental hygiene. Children under one year old there had tooth decay. So we taught those kids how to brush and how to floss their teeth, and I think it will have a good impact on them. Their hygiene will be better, their heart conditions will be better.”
HC: Do you want to serve as a doctor/work with humanitarian organizations in future?
Ryan: “I think I’d definitely do that. I think it’d be amazing to work with kids. Especially to be able to do more trips like I did in Honduras, but in a more medical sense, and give care to people who normally don’t receive it.”
HC: If there were one thing you could change about the world, what would it be?
Ryan: “I’d probably make medical care a basic human right and affordable in all countries so that [people] have better access to it. In Canada we are privileged [to] have access to good health care, but in a lot of countries, it is very hard to obtain!”
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If YOU want to help people who do not have access to medical care, Follow this link and donate whatever you can. Your small donation can make a big difference in peoples’ lives!