Moussa Keita was smuggled out of Guinea to his safety in Canada when he was 15 years old. He left behind a mother, two siblings, and a father he learned had been killed before fleeing to Canada. To this day, Moussa has no idea where his family is.
When he arrived here in 2001, he was traumatized, frightened and alone in the world. Today, Moussa is a high-school graduate who delivers workshops on drug abuse, gang violence and other problems facing youth.
“I’m very, very happy to do this volunteer work,” says Moussa. “I want to be a leader who sends the message that youth can have a good life if they choose to. They live in a democracy. They can speak freely here.” Free speech isn’t a right Moussa will ever take for granted. He saw what happened in Guinea when his own father voiced his opinions. The Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture a United Way agency helped Moussa repair his emotional life. Moussa is doing the rest. He’s been offered a college bursary and is currently applying for a study permit. He now waits anxiously to hear if he will be granted refuge in Canada.
United
Way makes an impression on a homeless man.