Sophie D'Aoust
Université du Québec à Montréal

Committed to Promoting Human Rights

Sometimes trivial events can completely change our attitude to life. This was the case for Sophie D’Aoust who, having dreamed of humanitarian aid since childhood, learned when she was in high school that she hadn’t been selected to take part in a training course in Nicaragua and realized that “if you want something in life, you sometimes have to fight for it.” And she didn’t waste any time. Upon entering Cégep, she chose an international oriented program that included a training course in Benin. It proved to be the starting point of a wonderful story of love and cooperation in West Africa.

In 2004, the student in international relations and international law at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM) participated in her first program with Canada World Youth at an orphanage in Benin. Deeply touched by the children, Sophie succeeded in finding a Benin doctor who agreed to voluntarily provide them with medical care. Then, worried that the fruit of all her efforts would crumble after she left, she joined forces with an NGO to find the funding required to pay the salary of a new coordinator for one year. And she kept her promise!

With her natural drive and determination, Sophie firmly believes that a healthy balance between one’s work, studies and commitment can be achieved by making informed choices while at the same time respecting one’s convictions. As well as personally financing her numerous trips to Benin, Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, she has organized various fund-raising activities in Québec to support the projects she sets up. A recreation room in the Senegalese village of Keur Massar, the creation of two pharmacies in orphanages in Benin, the organization of community meals for street youth in Burkina Faso, Aids public awareness activities in Niger, and the list goes on. “What we think of as a small amount of money can go a long way over there. Just imagine, I was able to have a well built for just $200,” she points out.

Sophie also took an interest in the plight of children who are forced to beg in Senegal, and even produced a documentary and wrote a news bulletin on the subject in collaboration with the NGO Tostan. And all these projects have one thing in common: their lasting benefits! Sophie is equally concerned about the poverty faced by certain families in Québec. For the past three years, at Christmas she and her family have been organizing a toy collection for needy children in Montréal and the south shore. Last year alone, more than 1,200 toys were collected through a network of partners and were distributed to children thanks to the Salvation Army. All the toys are washed, repaired, wrapped and come with a personal greeting card. “My mother, who inspired me to get involved in the community, always told me that if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing properly,” says Sophie.

Despite the time she spends at the cultural centres in Longueuil, her work with Forum jeunesse, her AWANU project with Joseph-François-Perrault high school, Oxfam-Québec’s 2/3 club, her fund-raising activities, her work, her friends and her numerous trips, Sophie is successful in her studies and has even been awarded scholarships and honours.

“As a citizen of tomorrow, I will continue to dream of a better world. But I will do more than just dream: I will do everything I can to help make the dream come true and encourage other young people, who have the will but not the necessary resources, to also do their part.”

Sophie D'Aoust
Université du Québec à Montréal