Cole Harbour Cares received word in April that the family of Ziad, Israa, Jana, Mona and Mahmoud had cleared all their interviews and security checks and were scheduled to arrive in Halifax on May 17th 2019.
First order of business was to find a 3 bedroom apartment which proved to be almost impossible. There is a terrible shortage of suitable apartments in Halifax/Dartmouth area and we were very fortunate to hear of one becoming available on Portland Street in Dartmouth on May 1st. Thanks to the generosity of many people, we were able to fully furnish the apartment prior to the family’s arrival.
It was a stressful time leading up to May 17th because we were not sure if the Lebanese authorities would allow the family to leave but when we heard they were on an Air Canada flight from Istanbul to Toronto we started to celebrate.
There were 20 Cole Harbour Cares members and 7 or 8 children waiting for the family to arrive. Words cannot describe what a joyful feeling it was to see them come through to the arrivals lounge at Halifax airport. Their smiles said everything.
They are starting to settle in. They understand most of what we say and they are very keen to learn English. They now have a bank account and Nova Scotia documentation. Jana and Mona are ready to start attending Hawthorne school at the end of May. Ziad and Israa will be going for English testing at ISANS and will be assigned an appropriate English level in the near future.
Ziad is eager to start working at Station 1 restaurant in Tacoma. Please pop in and see him. He loves to meet all his new Canadian friends.
Cole Harbour Cares members are visiting the family regularly to help them learn conversational English.
Thank you to all our many supporters. We know you kept the family in your hearts and prayers. They are so grateful for another chance at life and so happy to finally be living in Canada
Cole Harbour Woodside United Church 