This year’s honourees are joined by Gagan Sahota who presented each recipient with their certificate and spoke of her experience as a previous Honouree of Merit.
The Selection Committee was very impressed with the passion and commitment of all nominees as they pursue their social justice initiatives with courage, dedication and a willingness to lead by example and in a spirit of collaboration with others. Thank you for all your hard work!
We are thrilled to announce that following a review of all nominations, the Review Committee has selected Areessa Menaal Afzal as our Youth Social Justice Award Champion for this year.
Areessa Afzal is a dedicated student and community volunteer with a strong passion for history, politics, and global issues. They are actively involved with CanU, helping to support and inspire young learners. With a background in French immersion, they value cultural diversity and multilingualism.
Their academic interests include exploring local history, international affairs, and the impact of policies on marginalized communities. Through their work and studies, Areessa is committed to learning, advocacy, and making a meaningful impact with aspirations to pursue a career in law.
On behalf of the Committee and the Coalition, we extend fond congratulations!
Honourees of Merit (15-20 Year - Old Category)
Megh Hitesh Modha is a passionate advocate for mental health, youth empowerment, and leadership development, actively contributing to organizations like Project 11 and the UM Men’s Wellness Circle.
As a speaker and panelist at events such as Born 2 Business, Forced 2 Network (B2BF2N) and the Project 11 Lead Well Youth Summit, he has shared insights on networking, resilience, and self-growth.
Megh’s extensive work continues to be recognized as he champions open conversations on mental health, mentorship, and community-driven change.
Edlynne (Eddy) Paez is a second-generation Filipino immigrant. Some of her work includes organizing her community’s first ever Asian Heritage Month which included creating and managing a pilot program to teach students how to create multicultural education.
She connected with students to staff at Maples collegiate to run multicultural programming and established the “Asian Excellence in Politics Panel” in collaboration with the ninth-grade social studies teachers at her school.
This expanded on the existing grade nine curriculum to connect youth with diverse leaders. In the fall Edlynne plans to study international development studies at the University of Toronto with an end goal of working in policy in the future.
Bisman Randhawa is a first-generation immigrant. As a student she has endeavoured outlets for political engagement, career development, youth leadership and community work as her school’s student council co-president, and through the female empowerment group she founded, Maples4Women.
Throughout her presidency in Maples4Women, she has established an executive council and has pushed young women to maximize their pursuits and interests. Maples4Women has raised nearly $2000 for local women’s centres, and for their upcoming leadership summit, HERIZONS, through fundraising and United Way’s Youth Leadership Project grant.
Bisman’s work extends throughout the community as she drives cultural awareness and multiculturalism as a 2025 Youth Ambassador General for Folklorama, past vice-president of the Maples Sikh Heritage Committee, and as an active community volunteer.
Bisman’s leadership is also displayed throughout the Youth Parliament of Manitoba, Winnipeg Model United Nations, Manitoba Student Advisory Council and as a Legislative Page. Her pursuits are leading her to pursue Public Policy and International Relations at the University of Toronto on a fully funded scholarship as a National Scholar this fall.
Honouree of Merit (20-26 Year - Old Category)
Kassem Harb is a 24-year-old Muslim-Lebanese-Canadian youth activist, community volunteer, and a Hydro-Mechanical Engineer. He started his journey in activism in university, spreading awareness about Islamophobia and mental health post-COVID-19.
These drove him to join the founding of the Students for Justice in Palestine and Engineers Without Borders, acting as a Vice President in both associations. Post-graduation, Kassem has been heavily involved in the Muslim Community, in and outside of Manitoba, focusing on outreach, youth engagement, community unity, and social justice projects with organizations such as Islamic Relief Canada, Charity Week, the National Canadian Council of Muslims, the Canadian Muslim Vote, Manitoba Islamic Association, and the Bilal Mosque Community.
Alongside these involvements, Kassem is working on developing a professional Engineers Without Borders Chapter in Manitoba to pivot his career to focus on engineering projects that will aid in healing and rehabilitating Indigenous Communities in Manitoba.
Lifetime Emeritus Advocate and Wisdom Keeper for Social Justice in Cultural Communities
Louise Simbandumwe is the Co-Director at SEED Winnipeg and a grassroots community activist. A former refugee, she is passionate about human rights and social justice.
Her volunteer commitments include the Immigration Partnership Winnipeg Council, the Immigration Matters in Canada Coalition, the Access to Justice for Racialized Communities Project, and the Winnipeg
Foundation. She has also served on the advisory committee for Manitoba’s poverty reduction strategy and the Ministerial Advisory Committee for Canada’s first poverty reduction strategy.
Her awards for community services include the Human Rights Commitment Award of Manitoba, the Mosaic Merit Award, and the YWCA Women of Distinction Award. Louise holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan and a Master’s of Comparative Social Research from Oxford University, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
Clayton Sandy is a member of the Sioux Valley Dakota first Nation in Manitoba. His family grew up on an army base north of Brandon, coming from a large family of 10, his mother instilled in all her children, ” Help those who cannot help themselves “.
He has lived by this all his life. He retired in 2016, after 40 years of government service Provincial and Federal. Throughout his entire life as a child or adult he has had to face racism in many forms.
Because of this treatment, he also looked out for others who looked and sounded different from the majority of Canadians and started taking an active approach to reaching out to Immigrants and Newcomers, as he witnessed similar treatment as he lived. With this said, he is honoured to be recognized for this journey he has been on and is very appreciated being here. Wopida Tanka, Thank you.
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