"When you make it, look back and bring somebody with you," Vasile Caniuca

To get a sense of how much has changed for Vasile Caniuca since he arrived in Canada in 2001, you only need to step into his south London construction business.
You will get a glimpse of his story right in the entrance of Millstone Homes: Framed newspaper clippings that show a younger version of Vasile looking tired and haggard after he and six other Romanian stowaways emerged from a steel shipping container at the Halifax Harbour.
Their treacherous journey made international news. Even CNN showed up to get footage of the men who’d risked their lives by crawling into that container 17 days earlier with a little food and a lot of faith. They had spent the final seven days at sea, while a cargo ship carrying the container travelled from Livorno, Italy to Canada.
Vasile and the other refugees had succeeded in their desperate attempt to escape a life of poverty and find opportunity. Along with the media there to greet them, there were police and border security officers. Vasile spent his first night in Canada at a homeless shelter.
Eighteen years later, Vasile is known as a high-end London homebuilder whose company has been employing other Londoners and adding to the city landscape for more than a decade. He drives a nice vehicle, has more than he needs. He has even published an autobiography about his life and his faith. It is called The Grinding of the Millstone.
But success didn’t come overnight.
“I struggled big time,” says Vasile, who moved to Kitchener, then London. There were days when he and his wife were scrounging for loonies and toonies just to put gas in the tank. When he first started his business in London, he felt like people doubted he could do it. He was young, in his 20s, and still just learning English. But he kept working at it because he loved it. He believed in himself and refused to give up, and that’s the advice he gives other newcomers and entrepreneurs.
“Now I have a few things, and I’m happy and glad, but it’s not because I’m so smart, it’s because other people helped me. And God works through people,” says Vasile. “I don’t have enough fingers on my hands to count the people who helped me. People who didn’t really know who I was, but they had faith. They had such a positive impact on me.”
He never forgets the impact they had and says its easy for him to pay it forward. He is involved with his church and does charity work around the world.
“When you make it, look back and bring somebody with you,” he says. “When you see someone without money offer them money. When you see someone who has potential for business, push them in that direction. There is enough pie for everybody.” 

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