A
Very Busy Season ...
It has been an extremely busy winter for everyone at OMRA, but
also a very fruitful one as we continue to provide transitional
housing to refugee families.
In addition to welcoming a few new faces to OMRA on an organizational
level, we had some turnover among our tenants. Etienne and Isabelle
were able to find new accommodations that better served the needs
of their family, and Jacqueline and Desire were also able to move
on.
As such, we welcome two new families to our houses. John Luke
and his family of six, and Sana and her children have taken up
residence at two of our properties.
An
Important Message Regarding Grocery Cards
In recent
months, a few OMRA supporters have had the unfortunate experience
of having their Loblaws cards stolen. Please realize that these
cards are essentially the same as cash.
Each card has a serial number near the bar code. If that number
is recorded when the cards are received, there may be a possibility
that Loblaws can deactivate the card and reimburse the purchaser.
Reporting any loss as quickly as possible is extremely important.
Please record your card number.
Thanks to all who buy grocery cards for your great support of
OMRA housing. You have no idea how much it means to the lives
of the residents.
From
Africa to a Canadian Winter
One of our new OMRA families arrived from a refugee camp in Kenya
in October 2004. Originally from Sudan, they are a husband and
wife, with two young children, and his three teenage brothers.
John Luke, the breadwinner of the family, was a practicing physiotherapist
back home, but in Canada he must start over. He is currently studying
at Adult High School and hopes one day to have a career again.
The three teens are in three different schools. Charles, in grade
11 at Gloucester High School, says he loves doing chemistry and
biology experiments in the lab. The other two are busy learning
English. Wee Charles is in kindergarten.
All have found their first winter in Canada to be very cold, and
look forward to warmth and playing soccer.
Dahabo
and Her Family
Dahabo and her five children came to Canada three and a half years
ago. They came from Yemen, where the family had lived after fleeing
Somalia years earlier. Dahabo, however, did not come as a political
refugee: she came under the more recent Canadian immigration legislation
that allows women who are victims of gender-related violence to
be recognized as refugees. After spending several months at the
Catholic-run Reception House, Dahabo and her children moved into
an OMRA-sponsored house in the South Keys neighbourhood.
Since then, the family has made a remarkable integration into
Ottawa. Ilham and Ikram, the eldest girls, are excelling in grade
eight in a local school, where they have done projects on everything
from music history to the cell theory. Ikram, a very ambitious
and bright girl, has been determined since she got here that she
will be a university professor one day, and I don't doubt that
she has the intelligence and the work habits to get there. She
and Ilham have both been praised as leaders in their school; aside
from schoolwork and their social lives, they are both involved
in organizing school activities like dances. Mohammed, the only
boy of the family, is a very conscientious student in grade six
who always has his homework done early. He often then spends the
rest of his evening playing soccer with other boys from the area.
Two years younger, Faduma is also excelling in her schoolwork,
and has proved to be a formidable speller. She has even corrected
me (their tutor) on occasion!! Youngest of all is Samira. When
she first arrived in Canada, she saw talking animals on TV and
thought she had found new friends with whom to practice her English.
One day when she was out for a walk with her mom, she started
to cry. When her mom asked what was wrong, she said, "I keep
saying 'hi' to the dogs and they won't talk back to me!"
Now Samira is in grade one, and learning to read and write in
English, with lots of encouragement from her older siblings. All
five of them love to go to school and are eager to learn everything
they can. Although she is busy looking after five very active
children, Dahabo attends school full-time to improve her English,
and is starting to look for work. The financial situation of the
family is tight; Dahabo has to budget the approximately $1000
of monthly social assistance she has to look after the family
of six very carefully. Nonetheless Dahabo and her children are
always hospitable and welcoming to everyone who shows up. All
of them, Dahabo in particular, love Canada and the new opportunities
they have here. In fact, Dahabo now celebrates her birthday on
the anniversary of the day they first arrived in Canada. Before
that, she says, her life was sad, and she only wants to celebrate
the beginning of her happy life. - M. Gruending
An
Introduction to Some of Our Fine Supporters
OMRA is very grateful for the ongoing support of several congregations
and many people in Ottawa. Among our supporters are:
Emmanuel United Church
"We have about 30 families who support the program during
the year. In any given month, usually 10 to 15 families purchase
cards. As much as it would be tempting to single out some of our
largest and most regular supporters, it would not be fair to the
smaller but equally faithful supporters. What I can tell you is
that Emmanuel has a long history of supporting refugee families
beginning with the boat people from Vietnam and continuing today.
We also have unique partnerships, one with our sister church called
Immanuel Baptista in El Salvador and a group of faithful in Iqaluit.
As a congregation, we have a strong interest in affordable housing
in Ottawa. We have been supporting Habitat for Humanity builds
In Ottawa. the US and El Salvador, and are a member of the Multifaith
Housing Initiative. Thus, our support for OMRA Shelter Alternatives
Corporation fits right in.
Some of the cards are bought by Emmanuel church for distribution
when needed. Also, about once a year, a sale is made to Gloucester
Emergency Food Cupboard who distributes the cards to its clientele.
So we certainly see the program as a "win-win" scenario
that does not cost the participants but provides much benefit."
- J. Péron
First Baptist
Church
"Housing has been identified as an important issue for First
Baptist Church and that we are very pleased to be able to support
OMRA in provision of transitional housing for refugees. We are
now entering our third year of support and new people at First
are still joining. Members of he Alzheimer Society of Ottawa are
also participating with us and are very generous supporters."
- M. Eisner
