Humans of McMaster: Yumnah Jafri

The Silhouette: Please introduce yourself. 

Yumnah Jafri: My name is Yumnah Jafri. I’ve been a part of [the Student Walk Home Attendant Team] for two years now and this year I've taken on the role of being one half of the public relations and promotions team.

What is SWHAT? 

SWHAT is the student walk home attendant team. It's a service that's fully run by a group of volunteers. We have around 100 volunteers who basically work together to provide safe and confidential walks to any student who needs them on weekdays from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

What drew you to SWHAT? 

Our volunteers are responsible and reliable people who are very passionate about making campus a safer place. So, what we have is a really strong community and connection with each other. It’s one that becomes stronger every day that we spend at our home base chilling, playing board games together, eating SWHAT provided snacks, making fun stories to promote our service or just attending our specific volunteer-based appreciation events. That's actually a huge reason why I joined SWAT. As a student who spent her first year fully online, when I first applied in my third year, I just really felt like I still hadn't really made those deep connections with the McMaster University community at all. I just felt very disconnected. 

So, when I applied to SWHAT, it was to get to know my fellow volunteers, the students who use our service and the local neighborhood and area around campus. I just really love and I feel very strongly about what we're able to do for students who feel unsafe or uncomfortable walking home late. It just makes me feel like I'm a part of something bigger. As an executive, I've been exposed to reaching out to so many new people, services, events, things that I never even knew existed and I don't think I would have ever been able to know about by hadn't had this opportunity to be a part of this amazing team as a whole.

What’s one memory that helped you feel like a part of the SWHAT community? 

One of my fondest memories is on a seemingly normal weekday night. Our team worked together to make, I feel, one of our best stories of all time. We parodied Brooklyn Nine Nine’s “I Want it That Way” scene with our volunteer team. People were singing and they were so involved with it. Just seeing that made me appreciate that we don't just have a volunteer team that goes on walks and helps the community feel safe, we have such a good connection with each other and we make so many good memories just being on shift with each other. 

What do you hope to see for SWHAT in the future? 

As a PR executive, I have a huge hope that more and more people use our service. Even if it's not for them personally, I hope they’re able to direct others who do need SWHAT. For our walkathon specifically, we’re fundraising for this amazing charity: Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg. We donate a dollar for each walk to this charity, which is a multi-service Indigenous organization that provides services and helps foster Indigenous identity formation as well as, generally, a sense of belonging in culture and language for Indigenous peoples.

I know a lot of people feel uncomfortable or even scared of booking a walk. People can also feel awkward: “Oh my god, am I just gonna walk in silence with these two random strangers?” This service is here for you. It's fully confidential and all of our volunteers are open, friendly, individuals who would love to help students home with a walk. 

What are some of the benefits to using SWHAT? 

Apart from feeling safer when you're walking with a team of two people, when you request a SWHAT walk, you also get the chance to chat about life or whatever you're going through. I would say that's another big aspect of SWHAT. We provide accompaniment and comfort to people who may or may not be needing it and will always be there to chat with them about life. 

Even though my first year was online, I definitely would have used SWHAT in my first year because it tends to be the year when people feel a little bit more uncomfortable being on campus as well as not knowing a lot of people. So, when you book a SWHAT walk, you have these really nice volunteers to chat with you. I think that's an amazing aspect and it just makes you feel so much better about being a part of our broader McMaster community.