Global Health PhD student Shania Bhopa nominated for Young Trailblazer Award
The YWCA’s Hamilton and Halton Women of Distinction honours trailblazers who lift each other up in science and technology, entrepreneurship and around issues of activism, homelessness and encampments.
A trailblazer at heart, Shania Bhopa, student in the PhD in Global Health program at McMaster University has been nominated for the Young Trailblazer award. As co-founder of the non-profit organization The Canadian Courage Project, children’s book author, and the host of the Global Health Collective Podcast, Bhopa is an inspiration to her generation.
Her organization The Canadian Courage Project is aimed at helping homeless youth and their pets in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The organization’s mission, which aligns with SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 3 (Good Health and well-being), partners with local youth shelters to provide homeless youth and their pets with donated food, funds for vaccinations, hygiene products, and essential items. The decision to take action on this cause is based on a gap in existing support, coupled with research highlighting the positive mental health effects of animal companionship.
We asked Bhopa to share with us about how she sees youth having the power to effect positive change in the world.
“I believe working towards equity-based solutions in all spaces must include the powerful youth voices that cultivate the ecosystem around us. I appreciate the ability to support youth who may be facing structural vulnerabilities within the GTA and Hamilton through my non-profit organization, The Canadian Courage Project. It is my mission to ensure youth in the classrooms and across the city are offered the resources to excel, make a change, and strive for a brighter world. A core reason I decided to publish a children’s book is to ensure equitable access to health resources starting with our young ones. Youth will have a positive effect in the world if their voices are mobilized and amplified by our community.”
From her current research focused on supporting newly immigrated families with children to access health active living programs to her community work, Bhopa is dedicated to making a difference towards a more sustainable, brighter world.
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