“I came to Canada for a better future. In Africa, the gap between the rich and the poor was so huge and there are so many roadblocks to making a better life. But, life in Canada was not what I thought. There were times when I didn’t know where my next meal was coming from. To this day I still remember Gloria, who would bring me half of her dinner every night when I was really struggling and working two, sometimes three jobs at a time. These experiences really shape you and the funny thing was, even after I became an executive, I secretly kept delivering papers on the side.
Often immigrants are conditioned to not speak up about these things. Keep your head down, work hard, don’t ask for help, is what I was conditioned to believe. It doesn’t have to be that way.
I know firsthand the challenges of being a person of colour, an immigrant and a single mother. My education got me invited to the table, but for so many single mothers breaking out of the cycle of poverty is difficult, if not impossible. I want to break down barriers to education with my new platform and that’s what enough for all means to me.”
Evelyne’s company Ellie Bianca is passionately committed to bettering the lives of women around the world by empowerment through business and fair trade. The Ellie Bianca Woman Scholarship was started by Evelyne to encourage more single mothers to enroll and graduate from post-secondary.
