Key Club Leaders Inspired by Visit to Zambia With UNICEF
Three high-school student leaders with Key Club International, a youth-led service organization and UNICEF partner for over 30 years, recall meaningful interactions with children, caregivers, community volunteers and youth child rights advocates during a recent trip with UNICEF USA to see UNICEF programs in Zambia.
Key Club International, the world’s largest student-led service organization, supports Start Strong: Zambia, a project through which club members around the world help raise awareness and money to support UNICEF programs for young children in the southern African nation.
Three Key Club International trustees — Nicole Bunag of Indiana, Aspen Hess of Central Florida and Ethan Schmidt of Alabama — recently traveled to Zambia with UNICEF USA for a firsthand look at UNICEF's impact in the country, particularly in early education and early childhood development (ECD). They visited ECD centers, health facilities and hospitals and met with government officials and UNICEF program staff.
In this Q&A with Cristina Shapiro, UNICEF USA's Chief Strategy Officer and President of the Impact Fund for Children & UNICEF Bridge Fund, the students reflect on the experience. The conversation has been edited and condensed.
For three American child rights advocates, seeing programs in action drives home what it means to support UNICEF
CRISTINA SHAPIRO: It was such a pleasure to travel with you in March, and to see the impact of the fundraising Key Club has done to support ECD programs in Zambia. Let's start with each of you saying a little bit about yourselves and your involvement in Key Club.
ETHAN SCHMIDT: I am based in Birmingham, Alabama, and I am a graduating senior this year. Working with Key Club for the past four years — and for the last two as an international trustee — I've been able to work pretty intimately with UNICEF as the co-chair of the Programs and Partners Committee, working on fundraising campaigns such as Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF and Start Strong: Zambia. Outside of the classroom, I am a huge language nerd, and I am also a very amateur runner, something I'm trying to build my endurance for.
To summarize Key Club, I'd say it's an international service organization that works to foster student leadership and volunteerism across the globe.
ASPEN HESS: I am based in Central Florida, and am also a graduating senior. I am very passionate about civic engagement and political science, which I intend to study in college.
NICOLE BUNAG: I am from Indiana, and I'm a graduating senior. I plan to go to Purdue University to study engineering. Fun fact about me: I am a triplet.
CRISTINA SHAPIRO: The way that you all showed up in Zambia — how you led all the conversations we had, asking incredible questions — gives me hope for the world, with you as our future leaders. So now that you have all been home for a little bit, and you've had a chance to process and reflect, tell me: what was the most meaningful part of the trip for you?
ASPEN HESS: One of the top ones was definitely our experience at the community-based ECD center, or Insaka. I didn't realize how holistic the work is that is being done at these centers. I actually got to sit down with some of the maternity care volunteers in the stimulation room, some of whom walk an hour or longer every day to get there. I observed them with the infants, making sure they were getting the stimulation they need. It was so heartwarming.
I also met a young girl named Anaya who is benefiting from UNICEF support through the foster care system. I had so many inspiring experiences every single day, but these are the moments that I truly cannot stop thinking about.
CRISTINA SHAPIRO: Yes! It's not just seeing the program in action, but getting to interact with the key staff and the volunteers who make it possible, and the incredible children and family members who are benefiting — that's what brings this all to life.
And while we were there, we were really excited to learn that the government of Zambia is planning to expand this program to more communities. What do you think the government saw in these centers that made them want to do that?
ETHAN SCHMIDT: I think it's the breadth of services that they provide. They are kind of a one-stop shop for enrichment. Mothers can come in from the surrounding communities with their children, access educational services and medical services, learn about nutrition. Then they go back to their communities, bringing all that important information with them, and share it with their peers.
CRISTINA SHAPIRO: And we learned the government plans to expand from three Insakas — the ones Key Club's support helped power — to 200, all across the country. This is a great example of a demonstration project, showing what works, and then the government stepping up to bring that impact to many more families in need.
ETHAN SCHMIDT: Yes! The scalability is great.
CRISTINA SHAPIRO: Nicole, what will you take away from your experience in Zambia and apply in your role as a student leader in the U.S.?
NICOLE BUNAG: Before I was an international trustee, I served as a UNICEF champion, where I truly got to learn and understand Key Club's work with UNICEF and our Start Strong: Zambia campaign. And getting to see firsthand how families and children in Zambia are positively impacted was definitely exciting. It was incredible!
It was so cool to see adults and youth [in the places we visited in Zambia] invested in making sure child rights are protected, and their development and education prioritized. That's what I hope to do in my own school and community. — Nicole Bunag, a high-school junior and Key Club International trustee from Indiana
But more than that, we got the chance to talk with other student leaders in Zambia for a couple of hours, and to see the work that they do to help their community. I think we were all intrigued by what they had to say about how they help a variety of people, from 7-year-olds to 25-year-olds, and about how they tackle different topics, from drug abuse to nutrition to gender-based violence and so much more.
These youth leaders create awareness for child rights. It was so cool to see adults and youth invested in making sure child rights are protected, and their development and education prioritized. That's what I hope to do in my own school and community.
Related: Cristina Shapiro on Bending the Curve for Children in Zambia
Investing in early childhood generates massive returns for society — up to $17 for every $1 invested in children living with disadvantages. Every year, millions of children, their parents and families benefit from UNICEF's ECD work. Learn more about UNICEF's work in early childhood development.
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