News
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...
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...
Rebuilding dreams, rebuilding lives
Every morning Wael drops his wife off at English classes while he makes his way to his furniture shop. His young children are in school while his oldest son works part-time at a grocery store. It’s a typical Canadian life. Two years ago, though, life for...
CCI soccer league kicks off season 2
By Claudine Nduwimana It's only year 2 but already the Catholic Centre for Immigrants Youth Soccer League is set to grow. With the season ready to kick off on June 25, this year the league will see a girls' division as well as a boys' division. The...
Newcomers flock to university
Newcomer youth are heading off to university and colleges in numbers greater than non-immigrants, according to a report prepared for Crime Prevention Ottawa. The report is called Making the Grade: Immigrant Youth in Post-Secondary Education and was...
From one family to another with love
More than two years ago, Canadians lined up to sponsor families from Syria who were fleeing a brutal civil war that had raged for almost five years. They were part of the effort by the Canadian government to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada in the first three...
From refugee camp to nation’s capital
For the Nzokira family, Ottawa is a new beginning filled with dreams for their children and hope for a safe and bright future. Their story began in a refugee camp in Tanzania. Jean Marie Nzokira, 37, and his wife, Janet, 36, were children when they escaped a brutal...