Aaron Joshua Pinto, a Mangalorean-Canadian, son of Vincy Pinto of Kadri, Mangalore and Dinna Pinto née Peters of Kankanady, Mangalore residing in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, recently completed his third year in International Relations (Honours Specialization) and French Language and Translation (Minor) at the University of Western Ontario, in London, Canada. For the forthcoming academic year, he has been selected to participate in Western's International Exchange program in both France and the Netherlands.

Since he was a child, he has been actively involved in community service, hosting several campaigns and leading local environmental and social projects. He had the opportunity to work with children with physical and learning disabilities, assisting youth and women in impoverished communities, and had the privilege of lobbying post-secondary policies in the provincial and federal governments through the University Students’ Council.

He has been engaged in humanitarian missions in South Africa. In recognition of his work, he was honoured with the Outstanding Citizen Award from the City of Mississauga, as well as the Rotary Club of Toronto’s Youth Civic Leadership Award this year.

This summer, he will be interning at TakingITGlobal, an online social hub for youth leaders worldwide, and, at the same time, he is assisting Dr Nandita Biswas Mellamphy, Interim Associate Director at Western’s Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism, translating some of her scholarly articles from English to French.

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At the age of 13, he became acquainted with the realities of poverty and hunger during a visit to the Dharavi slums in Mumbai. He was shocked to see the  dirt paths winding between rickety houses made of garbage and sheets of dirty torn plastic; adults squatting at the side of the road; children playing with scrap metal and glass bottles. Many suffered from malnutrition and diarrheal disease, and leprosy and tuberculosis were rampant.

He experienced the strife, emotional burdens, and agony of many people, from all walks of life. The jhopadpattiwallahs, in particular, provided him with a challenge to see the world in a different light. They became his teachers, his invitation to change. It eventually dawned on him that there were others in this world who were less fortunate and less capable than he was, to indulge in the same opportunities that he had been given.

After his family emigrated to Canada from Bahrain following the Gulf War, it became clear to him that he wanted to support and stand up for minorities; those who were essentially shunned by ‘a dominant society’ and who may have experienced distress, disgrace, or discrimination in their lives.

It was important to him, therefore, to bring about social changes; to change perspectives on the coloured, the disabled, the poor, the feeble, and the elderly by providing aid, advocacy, and assistance. Hence, he spent much of his childhood and adolescence raising funds for charities, leading local projects, and providing support for community organizations for the purpose of advocating human rights and anti-racism initiatives.

In 2011, he worked with women and children in South Africa, teaching English in District Six, a post-Apartheid township in Cape Town, and producing disease-fighting probiotic yoghurt for poverty-stricken communities, such as Kayamandi.

During his stay, he also had the opportunity to speak with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu about HIV/AIDs awareness.

Apart from humanitarian missions, he has written and presented a policy proposal in California to gain government support for solar cookers in African refugee camps. He also had the fortunate experience of: presenting at a United Nations conference as a student ambassador; developing a campaign called, ‘Break the Silence,’ which tried to improve the living conditions of Ontario seniors living in long-term care facilities; and designing an award-winning brochure on the global food crisis for the Canadian Hunger Foundation.

In addition, he has recently been selected by Global Vision on behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade as one of thirty young Canadians to represent his region at the National Youth Ambassador Caucus on Parliament Hill in Ottawa at the beginning of June. Thereafter he will be representing Canada as a Junior Team Canada Ambassador on an international trade mission to the Americas, specifically Panama and Colombia, in July 2012.

He is currently raising sponsorship funds to assist with the costs of this mission. he has been appealing to leaders of his community, educational institutions, as well as businesses, who may be interested in gaining market intelligence and key contacts in South America.

In his hometown of Mississauga, he has contributed to a number of fundraising events, such as Relay for Life, the Share Life charity gala, and the Terry Fox Run. He has also tackled leadership positions on committees, such as the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, and ‘Unity Live,’ a multicultural event that helped local youth to foster a sense of appreciation for diversity in his neighbourhood.

He has also launched ‘Meals with Love,’ a youth-driven community project that provides nutrient-dense, environmentally-friendly food hampers to shelters for abused women and immigrant support programs in the Greater Toronto Area.

Ever since he was a little kid, he worked both passionately and tirelessly to ameliorate the conditions of life around him, be it in his hometown of Mississauga, on campus at Western, or internationally. "I appreciate life and all that it has to offer. I love to connect deeply with others, stand up for what is morally just and ethical, and I like working to make a meaningful impact in my community. Overall, I study hard and help others because I want to cultivate an in-depth understanding of the world and its people, while gaining the tools necessary for social change so that, in due course, I can work as an ambassador to promote social cohesion and, as a human rights advocate, provide a powerful voice for those who are silent," says Aaron.
 
He has a brother, Vernon, who was also born in Bahrain. His paternal grandfather Joachim Pinto and maternal grandmother Ruffie Peters live in Mangalore. He had his early studies in St Gertrude Elementary School and St Francis Xavier Secondary School, both at Mississauga, Ontario.