June 26, 2017

Yesterday at the Lodzer Synagogue in Toronto, Project Abraham held a free bazaar to meet the needs of the Yazidi community. It was a hugely successful event.

Under shade trees and sunny skies Project Abraham celebrated summer at Earl Bales Park.

My wife Debbie, who is the Project Coordinator for Project Abraham, and I joined the GTA Yazidi community in meeting our latest refugees at Pearson International Airport

Project Abraham is successfully supporting the growing Yazidi community in the GTA and helping them adapt to living in Canada. With our growing network of committed volunteers, we are providing clothes and furniture, helping find jobs and housing, and working with the community to ensure their needs are being met.

Last evening, volunteers from Project Abraham, and members of the GTA Yazidi community, along with Wisam, his wife Shayma, and their 11-year old daughter Hima, welcomed Jumaah and Tuffaha on their arrival at Pearson International Airport. It was an emotional family reunion, and a wonderful testament to the dedicated volunteers of Project Abraham who worked tirelessly to make this happen.

The Yazidis New Year was celebrated April 24^th at the Royal Canadian Legion banquet hall in Richmond Hill.

The celebration was an event full of the joy of freedom. The Yazidi community and Project Abraham volunteers shared the abundance of food and laughter, and the continual dancing and music that filled the hall.

Our Project Abraham volunteers met with the Yazidi community in Richmond Hill for our first conversational English class. About 40 Yazidis attended - adults and children of all ages - to learn the basics of practical everyday English.

The feedback from the community was fabulous! Thanks go to all our volunteers - drivers, teaching assistants, organizers, and our teacher for the day, Paulette Volgyesi. Classes will be held every Saturday and new volunteers will be welcomed.

If you'd like to volunteer please contact Debbie Rose at [email protected]

See all our photos below!

Eva Karpati from the National Council of Jewish Women made a beautiful presentation to our new Yazidi family. The National Council creates handmade quilts for new arrivals to welcome them. They use scraps of material and get a community together in order to provide warmth and comfort to honour the refugees’ journey and continued journey.

The quilt was presented to Marjan Darweesh who accepted it on behalf of her family.

Last Sunday my wife Debbie, my mother in-law Betty (89 years young), and I were invited to celebrate the arrival of our first Project Abraham Yazidi sponsored family at the home of Hayder Essw in Richmond Hill. His cousins, the Mado family, had arrived from Turkey last Wednesday evening to be reunited with existing family already in Canada.