A surprise backpack distribution at the Multicultural Council welcomed Syrian refugees to Windsor Friday.
Over 600 Syrian refugees have settled in the city since January.
The backpacks are one step in making sure they feel welcome, said Kathleen Thomas, executive director at the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County.
“It’s an opportunity to meet the new residents and for them to meet the community,” Thomas said.
The 100 backpacks are filled with children’s books, toques, toiletries and other everyday essentials.
From Syrian refugee Rim Ali, age 4, holds a book that was included in a surprise backpack of goods on May 13, 2016 at the Multicultural Council in Windsor, Ont.
The Multicultural Council partnered with the Rotary Club of Windsor Roseland, the Rotary Club of Trenton, the Alumni Association of St. Clair College and the Windsor Regional Hospital Diversity Committee to carry out the project.
All the items in the bags were donations from individuals and organizations in the community, said Aruna Koushik, member of Rotary Club of Windsor Roseland.
“These are not earth-shattering projects, they are very simple ones,” said Koushik, “but the idea is to welcome our new community members.”
Mohammed Salkini has been in Canada for four months, he said. After fleeing the war in Syria, Salkini and his family settled in Jordan as refugees for four years.
He visited the Multicultural Council Friday to pick up a backpack for his four children who were at school.
“I hope that they get excited for the books,” he told a translator in Arabic.
From left, Aruna Koushik, project organizer with Rotary Cub of Windsor Roseland, Houda Ajaj, Multicultural Council case manager hand a backpack full of toiletries, books and other items to Syrian refugee Medyen Zuhair Al Qazaq on May 13, 2016 in Windsor, Ont.
The backpack distribution is not only a way of welcoming people but to also let newcomers know that the community is there for them, said Riham Al Saadi, a case manager at the Multicultural Council.
Refugees undergo difficult journeys coming to Canada, she said, the resettlement process isn’t quick or easy either.
“We want to remind them that we are here for them,” Al Saadi said.
