NPA | Community Service

2011 | Mario Guilombo

Nothing is more devastating than seeing members of your own family killed and injured in retaliation for your passion to develop democracy and promote and protect human rights for everybody.

Mario Guilombo is a lawyer and human rights activist who, in 2001, fled his native Colombia after facing persecution for his humanitarian work.   Mario spoke no English when he came to Canada; nevertheless, the friendly welcome he received persuaded him to turn to human rights advocacy as a vocation.

The lack of support for programs promoting human rights eventually motivated him to create the Collective Defender of Human Rights “Laura Acosta” Corporation, which supports disadvantaged immigrants who have been harassed, wrongfully detained, tortured, or defamed.

2010 | Antonius Jamal Clarke

Antonius Jamal Clarke is a well-known activist and visionary leader among youth, both in his Jane-Finch community of Toronto and across the Greater Toronto Area. But things were not always easy for this ambitious, dedicated young man. 

When Antonius arrived in Toronto, he was unaware that the stigmas surrounding him would extend past his immigration status to his age, race, gender, and culture. After many years of struggle and uncertainty, he decided that he wouldn’t let these experiences limit his potential. He directed his passion into the very community that had shaped his experience through the initiation of a youth-led organization, Friends in Trouble (FIT) in 2004.

2009 | Jamila Aman

Jamila Aman has gone far beyond the call of duty in her wholehearted and passionate commitment to improve the lives of those she serves. She works tirelessly to help new immigrants and refugees adjust and acclimatize to their new environments, which at times can be financially and emotionally overwhelming. Her eye is always toward the betterment of the people that she serves. She has lobbied politicians and funders to help her cause. 

Jamila understands the difficulties faced by newcomers all too well; her own experience taught her first-hand what needs to happen to make settlement in a new land viable and achievable. When Jamila arrived in Canada from Eritrea in 1984 she had to overcome many barriers, as she was a well-educated female refugee of colour whose English was not fluent.

2008 | Helen Tewolde

Helen Tewolde epitomizes the story of second-generation Canadian achievers and trailblazers born to immigrant parents.

During the civil war with Ethiopia, Helen’s parents fled Eritrea. In Gondor, Ethiopia, Helen’s father worked as a math teacher; later, in Aqaba, Jordan where Helen was born, her father worked as a senior accountant. Although he earned a good living there, he brought his family to Canada, where civil liberties were secure and his children could obtain a strong education. 

2007 | Beverley Halls

When Beverley Halls came to Canada from Trinidad, she had a lot to adjust to. Life as a newcomer was complex. In addition to the new climate and foods, there was a new culture to conform to, and a school with a curriculum that was unwelcoming to newcomers and the disabled. These drastic changes caused a lot of distress, but Ms. Halls rose to the challenges.

As a youngster, Beverley was involved in the community endeavours of her faith community. Always eager to volunteer, she did fundraising for UNICEF and ADRA, organizations that had a world poverty focus. Beverley had great compassion for the underdogs of society because she knew social isolation firsthand. Being a deaf female, she had been the brunt of many jokes and was treated poorly by many of her peers.

2006 | Carl James

Carl James came from Antigua, the Caribbean, in 1973 to pursue post secondary studies in Canada. As a student he volunteered for the Black Education Project by tutoring newly arrived Caribbean youth and ever since has been dedicated in his involvement in direct community service. 

This early voluntary work molded Carl James’ contributions to the community and influenced his professional life. Today he is well known as a public educator who promotes equity, anti-racist education and the healthy development of youth. As a Professor in the Faculty of Education (also affiliated with the Department of Sociology and the School of Social Work) at York University, he draws on his front line experience as a youth worker and shares his knowledge and research with the community.

2005 | Sabra Desai

Raised in apartheid South Africa, Sabra Desai proved her mettle after arriving in Canada at the age of 20 and being told that a university education was not for her. This was Toronto in 1970. Unwilling to accept this decision, Sabra persisted in researching options and learned about the programs for mature students offered by the University of Toronto. 

Studying part-time while working to support herself, Sabra received a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree and went on to complete her Masters. 

Sabra has worked in the social services sector in various positions and for the past 12 years, been a faculty member at Humber College teaching Sociology, Social Psychology and Counselling. She is an avid activist/educator experienced in issues related to skin colour racism and equity in Canada and overseas. She has authored research on issues of immigrant settlement, hidden in-equity in employment opportunities and education.

2004 | George Sefa Dei

George is a prolific researcher and writer whose anti-racism studies have made a positive impact in Canada and abroad. His writings have been translated into several languages thus making them accessible to non-English speakers and, he has worked to promote inclusive education and anti-racism in Canadian schools and is actively involved in the community to promote youth education. His research has explored the reasons minority students drop out of school and provided guidelines to teachers who deal with students from marginalized communities. He has mentored students and provided young scholars the opportunity to train under him. 

2003 | Adeena Niazi

In July 2002, Adeena Niazi was recognized as one of the top 10 Canadians by Maclean’s Magazine. She has received the Person’s Award from Legal Action Education Fund and Women’s Intercultural Network. The Centre for Refugee Studies at York University recognized her achievements with the Vincent Kelly Award. Adeena has been featured in books – Afghanistan: The Cross Road and At the Feet of My Mother.

2002 | Aster Fessahaie

Eritrean-born Aster Fessahaie is an enthusiastic ambassador in promoting the cause of Children’s Services, where she is presently employed. As a community activist she has initiated several development projects in Toronto, such as the City of Toronto Children’s Services Annual Anti-Bias/Racism Resource Conference for childcare staff, parents, schools, organizations and the community. This event has grown from ten participants to a two-day conference drawing more than 200 people. Aster was also one of the key members instrumental in drafting the Children's Services Anti-Racism Policy and the Code of Conduct Guidelines with school-age children in Childcare Centres.

2001 | Amanuel Melles

Amanuel Melles has made a significant contribution to the social well being of the immigrant and refugee communities. He is the founding member of the Eritrean Canadian Society for Youth Advancement, mobilizing the community and providing leadership in public relations, project planning and implementation. He motivated volunteers to address stress and suicide prevention in the Eritrean Canadian community and co-founded the Canadians for Peace & Development in Eritrea (CPDE), an organization advocating peace and respect for human rights in the context of war between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

2000 | Farid Omar

Farid Omar founded the Pan-African Student Network (PASNET) at the University of Toronto. From 1996 to 1998, Farid served as a panel member of the University Tribunal at the University of Toronto. He is also the Treasurer of the African-Canadian Student Association. Farid was recently appointed Executive Director of the Ogaden Somali Community Centre.

Farid has helped to initiate many key projects that have substantially contributed to the social well-being of the Somali and African Communities. In 1997, he helped form the Somali Student Link to assist Somali high school students in making a successful transition to post-secondary education. He is a founding member of the Horn of Africa Relief Society, which strives to alleviate the problems facing East African refugees.

1999 | Ceta Ramkhalawansingh

Ceta Ramkhalawansingh and her family arrived in Canada from Trinidad in 1967. While studying political science and economics at the University of Toronto, she participated on the Student’s Administrative Council and the lobby to establish the Women’s Studies Program. She went on to become a lecturer in the program and now continues to serve on the program advisory board. For more than 20 years she has worked with the LEARNXS Foundation, an organization dedicated to encouraging innovation in education. This includes development of the Young Ambassadors of Toronto program to help youth create their own international travel and learning expeditions.

1998 | Meenu Sikand

Meenu is an activist in both disability and women's issues. In 1996 she was the Chair of the Centre for Independent Living; founded and chaired the Disability Rights Committee of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC); served as Treasurer on the Executive Committee of NAC and was a member of the Immigration Committee which lobbies for equity in sponsorship for the handicapped. She is currently on the Board of Directors of ARCH and a member of the Ethno-racial and Aboriginal Outreach Committee of ARCH.

As Vice Chair of the International Committee of the Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres, she represented women with disabilities at the United Nations Conference for women in Beijing and recently, attended the Women's Institute on Leadership and Disability and the International Women's Forum on Disability in Washington, D.C.

1996 | Michael Dang

1995 | Love Grace Koduah

An elementary teacher in Ghana, Love came to Canada in 1976 and worked in factories for 10 years before returning to school at George Brown College. In 1989 she graduated with honours from the Community Worker program and went on to complete a Human Services Counselling program, specializing in addictions. Love currently works as a Community Health Outreach Worker. Equally as busy as a community role model and volunteer, Love is the Chairperson of Firgrove Resident’s Association, Assistant President of the Amansie Multicultural Association, Queen of Ashanti Canadian Multicultural Association of Toronto, and an active member of the Metro Housing Race Relations Working Group.

1994 | Joyce Nsubuga

Following the ruthless murder of her husband, Joyce fled to Canada from Uganda in 1984 as a government-sponsored refugee. She began to create a new life for her family in a country without familiar traditions and community support. She completed a Masters Degree in Community Health at the University of Toronto, since her medical degree was not recognized in Canada. She now works for the Ministry of Health as a consultant for the Environmental and Toxicology Unit. Joyce and her family initiated and facilitated the development of a community liaison agency called the Canada Sub-Sahara Africa Liaising Association. She also assisted in the development of the Uganda Martyrs Church in Toronto, which provides support for people who have lost family members and are isolated. As a health care professional and volunteer, she is involved in supporting the HIV/AIDS community. She also writes and lectures about refugee issues.

1993 | Chandra Budhu

Change has had a life long commitment to supporting immigrants and refugees. Since 1979, she has worked as an advocate for a number of individual immigrants. She has facilitated workshops for low-income working immigrants from the Caribbean, so they could learn about their rights in the workplace and other areas. She co-founded the Guyanese Research and Representation Services, a community based non-profit group that worked with Guyanese immigrants, and was editor of a tabloid called the Guyana Forum. Returning to Guyana for a short time in the early 1980s, Chandra co-founded a labour and human rights organization.