Tony Bock/ Toronto Star The subtle bias South African-born Sabra Desai discovered here spurred her work as an advoate for those who face discrimination. Once told she was a dreamer to be thinking of university, she now teaches sociology at Humber College.

When Sabra Desai moved to Canada in 1970, the South African woman thought her apartheid days were over.

But when Desai, then 20, went back to high school in Toronto to complete a diploma, she was disheartened to hear a white guidance counsellor tell her that a university education was not for her.

"I thought Canada was a place where I could be who I wanted to be, and there was no restriction that South Africa had imposed on me by apartheid," said Desai, born and raised in Port Shepstone.

"The guidance counsellor said my goal was unrealistic and I was aiming too high. My heart just sank and there was this hollowness in my belly. At least in South Africa, you knew which side you belonged. In Canada, discrimination was just so subtle."

Desai dropped out of school but worked her way back to her dream in 1977, when she enrolled in a mature student program at the University of Toronto. She spent seven years finishing an honours bachelor of arts degree in sociology and psychology, and later completed a master's in social work.

After two years with the Children's Aid Society, Desai joined the former Etobicoke school board, working on race relations and multicultural curriculum. In 1993, she became part of the Humber College faculty, in social psychology and counselling.

Having grown up in a system that insisted she was worth less than her white counterparts, Desai, who is of South Asian descent, has become an avid anti-racism advocate.

"My skin colour dictated my life ... which school I could go to, whom I could be friends with, and what services I could or could not have," Desai said. "Life was decided for me in many ways.

"It's a life that I don't want others to live."

Desai will be honoured this week with the 2005 New Pioneers Community Service Award. She was part of a group of women who, along with the Peel Social Planning Council, founded the Interim Place shelter for abused women and their children. She is also a founding member of the South Asian Women's Centre and a past chair of the Cross Cultural Communications Centre.

Last summer, she volunteered to work with individuals infected with HIV/AIDS in South Africa, and is currently helping to build a holistic health and education program there.

What is her secret for success?

"Never give up," Desai said. "Equip yourself. Always be best prepared in such a way that it's hard for people to say no to you."