Bio: Christopher Opio, 56, is a forestry professor at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, B.C. A native of Uganda, he came to Canada in 1982 to escape widespread violence and military conflict. In 2007, Opio and UNBC colleague Tony Donovan co-founded the Northern Uganda Development Foundation to help provide Ugandans with access to clean water. He is one of the Top 10 finalists in CBC and Outpost Magazine's Champions of Change contest. CBCNews.ca Your Voice asked him to explain why he chooses to volunteer.

My story: I volunteer because I want to give back to the community, both locally and internationally, and to create change for a better world.

Locally, I volunteer because I want to be a good example and empower our future generations. I give seminars and workshops to educate students on the need to be good local and global citizens and to be the change agents for their communities. I emphasize the importance of science in schools by developing vision (planning) documents for some of our local schools.

Internationally, as a co-founder and chairman of Northern Uganda Development Foundation (NUDF), I ensure that NUDF designs and funds projects that are grassroots-based, effective, sustainable and locally managed with little or no further foreign aid. NUDF wells provide water that is clean and safe for drinking and is easily accessible so that the people of northern Uganda are healthier, children can go to schools and men and women can work on their farms.

Two main things motivated me to start NUDF. First, I was born and raised in Kamdini Parish, Oyam District, northern Uganda (a war-torn, poverty-stricken area). My parents were peasant farmers and very poor. Like all other children in my village, we had nothing by the Ugandan standards. We walked barefoot, drank water full of parasites and suffered from bilharzia and many other water-borne diseases. My family and I spent a considerable amount of time travelling long distances to collect dirty and unsafe drinking water. One of my brothers died of water-related disease.

Second, with my visit to northern Uganda in 1995, and witnessing the extreme human suffering and total collapse of infrastructure under the Lord's Resistance Army [a rebel group that has been battling the Ugandan government for more than two decades], I became convinced that I had to help improve the standards of living of these vulnerable, highly impoverished and traumatized people.

NUDF was established in 2007, with the goals of providing clean and safe drinking water and income-generating projects to allow self-sufficiency. We have built 29 wells, serving more than 42,000 people. Please visit http://nudf.org/ for further details.  

It gives me great joy and satisfaction to see how NUDF is positively affecting the people of northern Uganda. The people are drinking clean and safe water and children attend schools regularly. Farmers have secured much-needed income from projects such as goat production, beekeeping, production of crops and tree seedlings, and tree planting.

My involvement in NUDF has taught me the need to give back to the community. I have also learned that change begins with an individual who is determined and motivated and is surrounded by people with similar passion for a cause.

Living in Canada has made me who I am. Canada gave me hope, opportunity, education and a future. Without these gifts, I would probably be dead in Uganda. 

We also want to share your stories of volunteerism. Tell us what volunteer work you do and answer this question: "Why do you volunteer?" We may feature you on our website as well. Let us know in the comments below, email us at yournews@cbc.ca, or leave a message on Facebook or Twitter. You can vote for your favourite Champion of Change here.