Syrian family ‘thriving’ with community support
Former Toronto mayor delighted with experience of helping refugees settle in
Former Toronto mayor John Sewell was inspired to sponsor a Syrian refugee family early last year, long before the images of little Alan Kurdi shocked the world into action.
He reached out to his neighbours in the Bathurst and St. Clair area to ask if they wanted to help.
The response was overwhelmingly positive — and in July 2015 the Hillcrest Sponsorship Group was created.
“I’m amazed at how relatively easy it has been with our family,” said Sewell, who teamed up with 20 or so others who live near Hillcrest Community School to give a family uprooted by war a chance at a new life.
The Suleymans — parents, Omar and Aleye, and their two daughters and a son — arrived in February and settled into a fully furnished apartment in the part of the city known as Little Arabia, near Victoria Park and Lawrence.
The kids were enrolled in school immediately, and “have thrived,” Sewell said.
The group had initially raised $40,000 to support the family who had been living in Ankara, Turkey, after fleeing their home in war-torn Aleppo.
They have since collected a further $5,000 to $6,000 to pay for dental care.
The months have flown by since the family arrived, but it’s gone “shockingly well,” Sewell said.
The most challenging thing for the adults has been learning English, Sewell said.
But even then, they have done “pretty well,” with lots of ESL classes and a desire to work.
“I keep comparing Omar to me,” he said. “You want to teach me Arabic in this age of my life, c’mon!”
Suleyman, who worked as a cook for some time in Turkey, had been eager to start work, and the group was able to land him jobs in shortorder kitchens.
But his lack of English has been a little roadblock, so private classes will continue.
“It’s been a tremendously positive experience,” said Mary McConville, one of the sponsors.
“Despite the challenges … like learning English, adapting to a new culture, leaving family back home, and dealing with the adjustment of leaving a conflict zone.”
The group has already started planning for that — with three members tasked with watching the budget.
“The family has been living within the budget. Nobody is feeling shortchanged. We are going to have money left over after the year is over,” said Sewell. And even when the year is over, McConville is certain the friendship, and ties to the community will continue.
“We don’t think of this as before and after,” she said.
“We have developed strong relationships to the family and will continue to support them,” she said. “But in the meantime, we are trying to do whatever we can to prepare them for independence.”