Dagma Koyi is a dynamic speaker, impactful teacher, counsellor, and the founder and CEO of R.E.S.T. Centre (Restoration and Empowerment for Social Transition).
R.E.S.T. Centre emerged out of a desire for a holistic approach to youth development and enrichment initiatives for street-involved youth. R.E.S.T’s mission is to strategically invest in homeless youth in order to prepare them to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood through structured interventions targeting their vulnerabilities; and to transition them on a path towards independence, self-sufficiency and civic engagement.
As a humanitarian, Dagma is imbibed with a passion to alleviate the living condition of under-served youth. Her years as a counsellor to homeless youth in the city of Toronto, gave her penetrating insight into some of the challenges of a street-involved life.
Her primary objective is to advocate for increased funding and resources that further youth’s social, emotional, cognitive, financial and physical development so that greater numbers of homeless youth are gainfully employed and have access to adequate housing.
Dagma passion for social justice and poverty alleviation has also lead her to advocate for school-aged children in her home country of St. Lucia; where, through fund-raising support, she transports barrels of food and other items to specific communities to ensure that every child has a breakfast meal.