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Life Story of Carole Lavoie, Quebec. I was born in a small village of Quebec called St-Prime in 1978. My father was a farmer and my mother worked at home, raising their four children. I was the youngest one.

I went to college for 2 years to study Pure Science until I realized this was not a good choice for me. I decided I had to start working.

Opening my eyes to reality

As I had this need to learn and take up challenges, I took my backpack and went to several English-speaking cities of Canada to learn English. I got many different casual jobs in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. Child care worker in rich families, tourist guide, cashier, barmaid, waitress, insurance assistant, hostess are just a few examples. When I was in those provinces, I went through some hard times; I was even faced with the reality of being homeless.

Through all those experiences, I learned to know myself better and to forge my convictions. As I mixed with people ‘in the streets’ and worked for well-off people, as I was treated with despise by some employers and got indignant at other people’s extreme poverty, I made the decision to get involved in making the society richer instead of making some individuals richer.

The YCW helped me to see the hidden side of things

I came back to Quebec to find my bearings again. This is when my brother told me he had joined a movement called Young Christian Workers. At the beginning, I thought it was a sect but I accepted to take part in an activity anyway. This was a very important day for me as I discovered people who were deeply committed and told me about several social stakes, rights, actions taken to improve the Quebec reality. The YCW people helped me to see the hidden side of things. They made me realize that the reality people live cannot only be explained by individual choices but also by the political, social and cultural context. I actually realized that I knew very little about the reality of people who were not in the same situation as me and that I needed to delve deeper into the causes of the situations young people faced. I had to make my own analysis starting out from reality instead of trusting other people’s opinions which, much too often, were prejudiced.

I moved to Montreal and I looked for study programs which corresponded to my aspirations. Meanwhile, I got in touch with the Montreal YCW and the national YCW because I knew that I could make new friends in this new city through the YCW, and I also wanted to start getting involved in building a better society.

Rebuilding the movement, a beautiful challenge

I had been involved in the YCW for a few months when the national movement told me they were looking for a leader to rebuild the YCW in a neighboring city. I saw this as a big, beautiful challenge and a great opportunity for me to develop as a person. I went through the selection process and was chosen to be the YCW leader in the Rive-Sud of Montreal.

To be responsible for the rebuilding of the movement in that city pushed me to excel myself. I had to overcome my timidity to contact other young people I didn’t know, I had to learn to organize everything, understand the accounts, improve my written French, take the floor in front of several people on behalf of young workers with or without a job… This first stage lasted 3 years and brought me a lot. I was able to establish solid bonds of friendship and solidarity, to become aware of the major social stakes, to develop my argumentation, my critical mind, to develop my leadership and support that of other people, to encourage indignation and action from young workers with or without a job.

At the end of those 3 years, the movement was consolidated in that city, with several activists and leaders. We had taken awareness-raising actions, carried out actions in workplaces, organized leisure and training activities on our rights, met the deputy to tell her about our reality and our demands.

The World Council, a motivating experience

In July 2004 I started taking on the responsibility of the national YCW of Quebec, together with Doris Bouchard who would later be elected to the coordination of the Americas. The first responsibility I had was to represent the Quebec YCW at the 2004 World Council in Venezuela. Meeting all the delegates of the world movement was a very impressive and motivating experience. I had the opportunity to get to know the reality in other countries as well as their actions, and to meet activists who were deeply committed to improving the society.

Back in Quebec, I had to learn everything about the national organization of the movement. Since Doris Bouchard had to leave in December, the challenge was huge! In five months I had to grasp the reality of the five Quebec regions better in order to contribute to their actions, start planning my work in the long term, prepare several national meetings, organize and coordinate the national actions, activities and training sessions,… In other words, there was a lot to learn for one person who would be alone at the national secretariat for three and a half years.

Haiti: Sharing the simple life of kindhearted people

In October 2007 I was very fortunate to attend our continental meeting of the YCW Americas that was held in Haiti. This was a deeply enriching experience thanks to the exchange we had with our friends of Port-of-Prince and Les Cayes, and thanks to the discussions on the actions and reality of other South American and West Indian countries. For a while I shared their simple, poor life, but a very soothing life. I could meet simple people who worry much less than us even though we are living with more material wealth. Skilful, smart people who welcomed us as kings and queens. Kindhearted and friendly, this is how I will always remember my dear friends of Haiti and the activists of other countries I could speak with in Spanish: we had wonderful moments of work and celebration! They were activists with a wealth of experience and commitment.

What the YCW brought me forever

• An option for those excluded from the system, i.e. the young workers, the unemployed, the social welfare beneficiaries, the poor, and those who are victims of the system.
• A spirit of investigation. For instance, I no longer listen to the news in the same way. Now I ask myself questions about what is not said in the media and I wonder who controls the information.
• The discovery of my strengths and a taste for taking up the challenge of overcoming my weaknesses. The capacity never to get demoralized in difficult times and to always develop means to reach my objectives and aspirations.
• Not to keep quiet any more and take action, for I have understood and experienced the consequences of silence in the face of injustice and I know the importance of denouncing and asking the truth. Never again feel remorse for “not having done something” but be able to tell myself “I did what I could”.
• A second family, i.e. the enriching presence of friends and people who show solidarity and who work in the same line. There is always someone to help us if there is a problem.

My dreams for young workers with or without a job

• I dream that each young worker has access to social protections that will allow them and their families to live in dignity.
• Jobs that will allow each and every one to fulfill themselves and to live happily.
• To live in a system which permits a fair distribution of wealth.
• A society with solidarity, where people work at building a world with more justice.