Helping all newcomers
realize their full potential

Catholic Centre for Immigrants – Ottawa

Settlement is not always easy

In a recent column, Le Droit’s Patrick Duquette called a Donald St. apartment complex, where many Syrians live, a ghetto and a ticking time bomb. (Story here) He reports that Syrians are unhappy with the pace of settlement, the lack of job opportunities, language...

Using an app to help newcomers

Justine Nkurunziza is an extraordinary woman. In her native Burundi, she was a human rights defender, especially for the rights of women and children. She also worked for Action Aid International in Burundi, before coming to Ottawa as a refugee in 2016. Justine has...

Finding a new family

“When I arrived in the city in 2016 to study business at the University of Ottawa, I felt like I had landed in the middle of nowhere and was very lonely,” says Seka Wilfried Adon, an international student from the Ivory Coast. “I only had a few friends in Gatineau,...

Youth benefit from art program

By Claudine Nduwimana “Art is my talent and I came to CCI to give the most valuable treasure I have -- art skills, my talent.” Jennifer Macklem is an art professor at the University of Ottawa. She joined the Catholic Centre for Immigrants (CCI) in March as an art...

Fatma says, thank you Canada!

By Claudine Nduwimana A little more than two years ago, Canada welcomed 25,000 Syrian refugees over the course of three months. Thousands of those refugees were children and teens who brought a new culture to our local schools. For many, it was the first opportunity...

Honorary degree for Carl Nicholson

Editor's Note: The following text appeared in the Algonquin College convocation program. For more than 50 years, Carl Nicholson has been a man with a mission. In his own words, “I’m driven to build a better world.” By any standard, he has been highly successful in...

SYRIAN REFUGEES