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| War Child Canada founder Samantha Nutt. |
“I get up and do what I do everyday because I believe in social change,” explains Samantha Nutt, a medical doctor and founder of War Child Canada. In a lecture sponsored by the Dalhousie Student Union and War Child Dalhousie, she advocated for creating a groundswell for social change.
Recognized by Time magazine as one Canada's top five political activists, Dr. Nutt spoke on Tuesday, Feb. 10 about her own activist experiences through War Child and offered advice for young activists who want to make a difference.
“The grander your vision, the longer the timeline,” she said, reminding the audience that change doesn’t happen overnight. Remembering this, she says, helps her evaluate her successes working with War Child, an organization which recognizes that ending and mitigating “war, the greatest of all human tragedies,” is a large task.
The second piece of advice was fittingly imparted by a woman who has almost lost her life in the field on numerous occasions and has struggled to build an organization from the ground up with few resources beside her own tenacity, ”For others to believe it, you must believe it more.”
Today, the Canadian charity has a multi-million dollar budget and is working in 10 war-torn countries. But it wouldn't have got that far without Dr. Nutt assembling a team of people who complement each others’ talents and have can-do attitudes.
Dr. Nutt emphasized the importance of mobilizing youth, explaining that, “youth don’t just want to know, they want to do.” To keep people involved, she said, a good leader must “promote ownership through choice,” and give people ways to be involved in a cause that interests them and they feel is important.
“If no one is listening don’t shout, change the message,” she added. War Child has had great success with original marketing and by recruiting the help of high-profile musicians such as The Killers, Coldplay and Sum 41.
“If it’s hard, it’s because what you are doing is important,” she concluded.
If you are interested in learning more about War Child Canada, visit the website or get involved in Dalhousie’s chapter.
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