Helping all newcomers
realize their full potential

Catholic Centre for Immigrants – Ottawa

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 get ready for...

Family escapes refugee camp

For Zemetu and her two children, this has been a year of miracles for the family. Arsema was four and Ashenafi was seven when they fled Eritrea with their widowed mother and were forced to live in a refugee camp. Zemetu says life was a nightmare. “We lived in a small...

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...

Farouk plans for success

By Claudine Nduwimana When Farouk Siluuke thinks about what Canada has to offer him, he doesn’t hesitate. Canada is a place where he can fulfil his dreams. “Canada is a land full of opportunities,” says Farouk. The young man arrived in Ottawa last July. There was no...

Kids Up Front, a valued partner

By Haiqa Khattak It’s Ottawa Senators game night and Sens fans are cheering for their team. Somewhere in Ottawa, there is a young newcomer watching it on TV. He wishes he could attend that game but the ticket is too expensive. That’s where Kids Up Front steps in....

Adapting to the Canadian market

By Haiqa Khattak Oyaje Omaku was sending applications to employers and companies, but they were not contacting her or inviting her to job interviews. “My applications were going into a black hole because I did things the way it was done in my country,” she said....

SYRIAN REFUGEES