Discover the journey of a dedicated volunteer on Tel-Aide Montréal’s active listening line.
If you crossed paths with Monique, you’d immediately notice her contagious joy, warm laughter… and the deep, authentic wisdom that inspires trust.

Monique spent 46 years in Africa, where she learned that truly understanding others begins with listening. Originally traveling as a nun, she never sought to impose anything. Instead, she took the time to observe, ask questions, and understand before taking action.

She still remembers young students licking a white powder from the palms of their hands at lunchtime—powdered milk. There was no potable water nearby, only a river seven kilometers away. Women would walk for hours with empty jugs balanced on their heads in the morning and return in the afternoon, moving in small, quick steps, their jugs now full. Monique didn’t bring a ready-made solution; she sought to understand the village first, learning their language—because how else could she build trust? This respect for others’ pace and choices became her life philosophy.

Back in Québec in 2014, Monique volunteered in Beauport, where she discovered Tel-Aide Québec. During a training day in Drummondville, she met France Wagner, president of Tel-Aide Montréal. This pivotal encounter led her to continue her volunteer work after moving to Montreal. Today, she offers compassionate listening to callers and participates in interviews for future volunteers.

A training in integrative human relations deeply shaped her perspective on listening. “We are not here to follow an agenda, but to respond to people’s real needs,” she says. Helping begins with genuine connection, where the goal is to help others recognize their own strengths.

Monique also volunteers in prisons. For her, helping someone rebuild their life and reconnect with family and society creates more safety and happiness for everyone. “Sometimes, we create our own prisons. There is always a chance for rehabilitation. We are all meant to be happy. That’s what everyone seeks—to feel better with themselves, to be better with others. It’s both so simple and so complicated.”

As a child, Monique once opened a massive book in the library and stumbled upon the New Testament. She didn’t yet know what it was, but the words she found stayed with her: no anger, no condemnation, no judgment—only gentleness. She told herself, “That’s how I want to act.”

To this day, she chooses gentleness. In every conversation, in every encounter, she reminds us that there is always a way forward, always a chance for a new beginning.

Monique recently appeared on Marianna Mazza’s show, Livre ouvert. Watch her interview right here: