Valeriia is pursuing her Canadian dreams

Valeriia is pursuing her Canadian dreams

Valeriia is ambitious and focused. Like all newcomers who come to Canada, the settlement journey is not always an easy one, but she pushes forward every day. We recently had a chance to sit down with Valeriia. This interview was edited for length. Tell us a little bit...
How do fun activities help settlement?

How do fun activities help settlement?

Every Wednesday evening, 40 women spend their afternoon on the main floor of CCI Ottawa — sewing. Meanwhile, another group of old and young newcomers go skating every Thursday evening at Lansdowne Park. In late summer, Michael Tay just wrapped up a paddling...
Helping others is happiness

Helping others is happiness

By Claudine Nduwimana Muhammad Khalil has been a volunteer at CCI for a little more than four years. Since coming to Canada as a refugee, he has found helping others a source of joy and a way to create lasting friendships. We talked to him about his volunteer...
Working with youth to find jobs

Working with youth to find jobs

Newcomers to Ottawa all have one thing in common. They want to give back to their community as soon as possible. That’s true of youth newcomers as well. That’s why the Catholic Centre for Immigrants Youth Program has a job program that helps young people...
IKEA program hires newcomers

IKEA program hires newcomers

The Catholic Centre for Immigrants has partnered up with IKEA Canada to help newcomers land jobs at the popular home furnishings store. The IKEA Canada’s Refugee Employment Program launched earlier this year and CCI’s employment team has been working with newcomers to...