Esteban Salcedo
École des Sources

One day Esteban Salcedo heard someone say: “Those who have the power to intervene also have the responsibility of doing so.” Ever since, for the young Secondary 5 student at Des Sources high school, this saying regularly comes to mind and motivates the decisions he makes, which he believes can improve our world. “I am lucky to be able to live in a wonderful place and I therefore feel obliged to use all available resources to help those in need,” he starts by saying.

Esteban arrived in Canada when he was only five years old and grew up sheltered from the political and economic instability of his native Colombia. He has in no way turned his back on his roots and is on the contrary extremely proud of his origins. In fact, what he wants to do is take advantage of the opportunity his parents gave him to live in Canada in order to help the people in his country. “The fact that I have had this chance has opened my eyes to different realities. We still have family that we visit in Colombia. When I see the differences between here and over there, it strengthens my desire to do something tangible,” explains the 16-year-old who is enrolled in an international studies program.

But if you want to help an entire country, you have to find somewhere to start. For Esteban, the starting point took the shape of an extensive salvage project for used bikes that he wanted to ship back to his native Colombia. “I must admit I was very ambitious. I believe that if you want something to succeed, you must always aim high. It’s even more stimulating,” he says, laughing. But how do you go about it? “At first, I wanted to do everything on my own. Collect the bikes one by one, repair them, store them and then take care of the shipping. I quickly realised that this would be easier said than done,” recounts the finalist in the Committed Student category.

So Esteban contacted Cyclo Nord-Sud, an organization that fights poverty by collecting bikes and shipping them to destitute communities in Southern countries, where they are used as a means of transport and of earning money. Following numerous meetings, Esteban finally arranged his first collection last May in Pierrefonds. He set about getting together a team, finding a place to collect the bikes and advertising the event. Esteban and his team succeeded in collecting 75 bikes. However, as Cyclo Nord-Sud did not have any ties with Colombia at the time, the bikes headed for El Salvador.

“I have already started setting up a second collection. And this time, in order to be able to ship the bikes to Colombia, I made my own enquiries to find a receiving organization and I now take care of all communication between this organization and Cyclo Nord-Sud,” says Esteban.

Moreover, so as to raise public awareness of the plight of Colombia, Esteban will soon be playing the role of international delegate for Colombia during a United Nations re-enactment that will be held at Collège André-Grasset. For the occasion, he will be accompanied by a fellow student and will address two issues that affect the country, namely the food crisis and the right to good health. “This chance to take part in something that helps inform people about social inequalities is very important to me. In fact, by becoming either a diplomat or a journalist, I would really like to one day be able to have this power to inform and to bring about change.”

His work last year with the Acti-Aide committee at his school also bears witness to his innate desire to do good wherever he can. As a member of the group, Esteban ensured the smooth running of school activities and provided help in the library and classrooms during lunch-hour. “There’s a little something about Esteban, a leadership skill that enables him to make others aware of the problems of the most destitute. He is determined and highly conscious of the serious issues of world poverty. I also know that he’d like to pursue an international career in this field. For all these reasons, he has my greatest admiration," maintains Gérard Camisa, the man in charge of the Acti-Aide committee.

Esteban Salcedo
École des Sources