"When I first came to Canada [I had] a lot of stress because I changed my city, my country. But now I feel very comfortable, especially when I came to this church."” - Lodi Ghossen, recently arrived in Ottawa.
As seen in CBC news posted: Dec 01, 2017
Every year at this time, the Ottawa Mennonite Church holds a fair trade Christmas market, with proceeds going to the Ottawa Food Bank. Volunteers make it all happen.
This year, one group of volunteers has a special reason for wanting to give back.
Read more: A Syrian Family Gives Back by Helping Ottawa Food Bank
As we get further and further along in this humanitarian crisis of displacement and people forced to flee for their lives, more and more have come to Canada and are resettling into a new life here.
This month, we would like to high-light the story of 22-year-old Hany Al Moulia who fled Homs, Syria a year after his youngest brother was born in March of 2011. After graduating high school he knew "he would be conscripted into the army. And then his cousins were murdered in their homes. It was time to get out."
Syrian refugees know what it is like to lose everything and can identify with the evacuated citizens of Fort McMurray, Alberta. That is why many Syrian refugees in Alberta are helping in whatever way possible. This Montreal Gazette article tells the story of what one such group of resettled refugees is doing in Calgary.
“Everybody wants a safe and happy life. That’s all I wish for my family, too.” - Kevork Eleyjian, 28-year-old Syrian recently arrived in Montreal.
Written By: Marc-André Cossette Based in Ottawa, Canada
Wearing earplugs and protective gloves, Kevork Eleyjian hauls glued-wood veneers to a large machine on a noisy factory floor, shaping thin composite sheets into curved seats.
Written By: Lynn Raineault Based in Ottawa, Canada
In Kelowna, British Columbia, a group of private sponsors started “a movement” to bring a Syrian family to Canada. Together, they’re helping parents Mohammad and Sahar, along with their four children, build a new life in their community.
Country of Origin: Syrian Arab Republic
Edy and his family were on the first flight from Beirut to Toronto, as part of the Canadian government’s tremendous commitment to resettle 25,000 refugees from Syria.
“The day I heard I had permission to move to Canada, I applied to three universities. I wasn’t able to go to university in Syria because of the war."
"I cannot do everything, but I must not do nothing."
- Baronness Caroline Cox