I recently came back from a 2 month eye-opening trip in South East Asia (SEA). I graduated from McGill...

I recently came back from a 2 month eye-opening trip in South East Asia (SEA). I graduated from McGill in mechanical engineering and since then I have been working in a huge consulting firm in pharmaceuticals. I have always been very passionate about social issues and was involved in many fund-raising campaigns in high school (World Vision 30 Hour Famine, HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns). One of my most memorable experiences was in CEGEP where I volunteered to teach English to a woman who fled Iran. She was new to Montreal, was alone, and was trying to improve her English so she could find a job. I tutored her in English and helped her to use a computer for months. Within a few months her resume was ready, her English had improved drastically, and she had found herself a part-time job. It was the beginning of her new life in Canada and I was very happy to have been part of her adaption process. In university I worked on a project for Mines Action Canada to advance de-mining tools for landmines in Cambodia. I also did some volunteer work for Engineers Without Borders where I got a chance to meet motivated people who wanted change. I wanted to pursue a career in humanitarian work but my very traditional parents dissuaded me. My father emigrated from China in 1954 to flee the hardships of communism and has not returned since then. My parents have worked extremely hard all their lives and they did not want their children to go through what they've been through. I got suckered into the social mold of "school-work-family". When I went to Asia, everything seemed to make sense to me. I wanted to provide tools to help people develop economically. My favourite place that I visited was Cambodia. They've had a violent history and now have recently started to regain stability. Although there is still a lot of corruption, Cambodians are always very friendly and outgoing. There is a high rate of orphans, parents killed my landmines or their family were killed during the Khmer Rouge Regime. Many people live on the streets. There are countless of landmine victims who can no longer support themselves or their families. People, adults and children, resort to begging to survive. Prostitution is also everywhere and it sickens me that people would exploit innocent children, especially after what they've gone through. I want to be able to provide them the tools they would need to regain stability. By helping them earn a decent and honest wage, they can provide food and education for future generations. There are many steps to take before Cambodia can have a stable economy. But every effort counts and I would like to be part of that movement.
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