When Gigi Hadid headed to Dakar, Senegal earlier with
UNICEF in December, she didn’t know what to expect. Though she has been working with the UN agency since 2018, traveling to Bangladesh’s Jamtoli Refugee Camp in August of that year, her most recent excursion represented an entirely new experience. “This was my first time on the African continent, and Senegal was such an incredible place to start,” said Hadid speaking over the phone from New York. “There is so much amazing culture and art, and people are so warm and welcoming—I truly enjoyed it.”
On hand to support UNICEF’s team as they travelled through the region visiting schools, maternal health centers, and small villages, Hadid got an inside view of the organization’s work in educational and health services for children in need. With multiple stops and assignments along the way, the three-day trip was a whirlwind, one Hadid felt duty-bound to document closely. “I realized that my greatest responsibility in this is just to share what I’ve learned, increase the exposure, and make people remember that these issues are out there even if they aren’t in the news cycle,” she says. “That’s why social media has finally been given a meaning for me—it’s important to highlight these stories.”
Armed with a notebook, a camera, and a willingness to listen, Hadid and her best friend,
artist Austyn Weiner, observed UNICEF programs such as a community led WASH initiative, a project building latrines and handwashing stations in small villages. They also joined the agency’s entrepreneurial workshops in which young women are given the tools to pursue careers i
On our first day we visited women’s shelters for victims of assault and abuse. This a beautiful place [called], La Maison Rose that was started by Mona Chasseiro, a French woman who had previously run a similar international shelter in her native France.
When I first began my partnership with UNICEF, Caryl Stern, the former CEO and president, taught me that the first question to ask [when meeting people] is always, what do you want us to tell the world about you? When I put the question to the women at the shelter, they said that they wanted to world to know that this is a place that took them in without judgment, where they found their families. They also said that despite the negative things they had experienced, they were able to find the joy in motherhood. I thought that was beautiful.
[We were able to see the place] where the women go to talk through what they’re feeling and what they’re going through. We asked them if we could sit and listen in. A few of them opened up and others just wanted to listen. It was brave of them to share their stories.
n STEM and new media.
For Hadid, who gave charitable donations in lieu of holiday gifts and updated her social media with links to
UNICEF's Unite, a grassroots program focused on local activism, getting the word out about giving back is paramount. "The people we met and were working with [in Senegal] loved their lives, they just need help in small ways," she says. "My joy comes from sharing the information I learn [on these trips]; both the personal stories, and how people can become more involved."
Here, the model shares the photo diary she kept throughout her trip.
On our first day we visited women’s shelters for victims of assault and abuse. This a beautiful place [called], La Maison Rose that was started by Mona Chasseiro, a French woman who had previously run a similar international shelter in her native France.
When I first began my partnership with UNICEF, Caryl Stern, the former CEO and president, taught me that the first question to ask [when meeting people] is always, what do you want us to tell the world about you? When I put the question to the women at the shelter, they said that they wanted to world to know that this is a place that took them in without judgment, where they found their families. They also said that despite the negative things they had experienced, they were able to find the joy in motherhood. I thought that was beautiful.
[We were able to see the place] where the women go to talk through what they’re feeling and what they’re going through. We asked them if we could sit and listen in. A few of them opened up and others just wanted to listen. It was brave of them to share their stories.
We visited two schools in Kolda, 9 hours from Dakar. The first was an elementary school and the second a pre-K. In the past, the preschool was something that only families with money would have access to. UNICEF is trying to support and encourage school administrations in places where an elementary system already exists to introduce pre-K programs. Studies show that kids who start school at that level stay in school longer and continue their education further.
In Pre-K they begin with counting, learning their colors, and languages. The hope is that this will enable them to be more well-rounded, more confident, and better prepared to continue their schooling. Still, it’s not only a question of raising awareness in schools, it’s also about sensitizing the families and communities to understand the importance of child development from an early age. It’s beautiful to see kids in a space where they’re just so happy to be there. And it’s not about who I am, because they don’t have any idea—I’m just another person in a UNICEF shirt.
UNICEF is now training community health workers about the importance of registering children at birth and working with the government to set up birth registration desks at hospitals and birthing centers. In the past, one in four children were not registered and did not have a birth certificate or other important documentation. When mothers go in for their prenatal checks now, they start by giving them a book that explains the importance of pre-and postnatal healthcare, but also of registration.
This was my favorite part because we were working hand in hand with the community. This village is about an hour outside of Kolda. There were several community leaders present one of whom being the Natural Leader, the lady pictured here in the red head wrap. She’s been appointed by UNICEF to support the facilities and educate her community on menstrual health. The donations of the fabric and reusable period pads are given to her to give to her community.
It's the little things that matter [during construction] like learning how to keep the latrines sanitary or how to build a pipe so that it’s able to air out. The communities take this [job] on with such pride; it’s a joy to help.
The natural leader told us that at one point, 20-30% of the community was suffering from stomach ailments, a huge problem since it results in dehydration. Those issues were resolved after the [UNICEF WASH] program. It's a fantastic thing to see the way that these small training programs can impact communities in a big way. When we spoke to one of the religious leaders during our meeting, he said that [previously] he'd only heard of UNICEF on the radio and now they were here to help his village—stories like that make me smile.
