Bring Kadar’s Baba to Canada

In November 2018, Walaa Ibrahim arrived in Ottawa as a young widowed mother with hopes of providing a safe childhood and a better future for her 5 year old daughter, Kadar. In order to move to Canada, they were forced to be separated from their family who remain in Jordan. Coming to Canada has been a great blessing for Walaa and Kadar, but their suffering is not over as long as the family is divided.

We are raising money and seeking volunteer support to bring Walaa’s mother, father and youngest brother to Canada and reunite the family. This is a rare opportunity to contribute directly to improving the lives of 5 people displaced by an unjust and brutal war. Donations made in Canada are tax deductible.

Kadar’s wish

The following is a brief account of the family’s journey from Syria to Canada. It is the true story of real people- gentle, kind people- trying to survive in a time of gruesome war.

Shortly after the war in Syria began, Walaa was 18 years old studying at the University in Damascus. She regularly witnessed gross physical abuses of her friends, neighbors and family by the government and its supporters. It was commonplace to see women, in particular, pulled off of buses and simply taken away. She lived in fear for her safety.

When a religious zealot, emboldened by the rise in violence against women, hit Walaa over the head leaving her to bleed into unconsciousness, Walaa’s father decided it was time for the family to leave the country. After a long, terrifying journey from Damascus to Jordan the family was placed in Camp Za’atari, the largest Syrian refugee camp in the world with 80,000 inhabitants in a 2 square mile space. Walaa describes the food as inedible, either rotting or full of bugs. She recalls many people dying from contaminated food and water.

Camp Za’atari, Jordan

Walaa’s family sold everything of value that they had carried across the border in order to leave the camp and pay rent in the town of Irbid. Syrians are not allowed to work in Jordan, but in order to keep the family out of the camp and properly fed, her father and brothers began to find whatever work they could. Because their employment is illegal, employers regularly take advantage of Syrian employees threatening to send them to the camps or back to Syria if they complain.

In 2013, while her husband was in Syria tending to his mother and father, Walaa had a baby girl. Six months later her husband died in Syria. Walaa was devastated. The support of her mother, father and brothers was the only thing that got her through those difficult days. Kadar’s grandfather, Baba as she calls him, became very close to Kadar filling the void of her father.

Life in Irbid was not safe for Walaa and her family. They were constantly harassed by neighbors, employers, and landlords for being Syrian. Kadar was often attacked by Jordanian children who told her she should go back to Syria where she would get killed. Kadar would ask her mother if they could go live somewhere where there are no people so that she could be safe.

In 2018, Walaa and Kadar were granted priority status due to being a widowed mother and child. They were given passage to Canada and arrived in Ottawa in November. They have spent the past many months acclimating to their new surroundings- learning English, navigating bus routes, banks, schools, even ice skating, swimming and bike riding.

Kadar on her first scooter ride

Kadar’s first skate, with her friend Charley

But life has been lonely without family. Walaa worries daily about the health and safety of her aging parents and the future of her 14 year old brother who has not had access to schooling in 6 years. She wonders what would happen to Kadar if anything should ever happen to her, Kadar’s only family in the country. And everyday Kadar asks Walaa when she will see her Baba again.

Please help us raise the funds to bring Walaa and Kadar’s family to Canada. With these funds we can give 5 people the gift of living with their loved ones, sharing life together and the peace of knowing that they are safe, together.

We have willing sponsors ready to support them in their transition but we need $24,000 CAD up front before they can be granted entrance into the country. Please consider helping in whatever way you can. All of the funds will go directly to supporting the family. Donations are tax deductible in Canada. Please let us know if you need a receipt.

If you are in the Ottawa area and want to help with this effort on the ground please drop us a line or reach out to us at amyelizabethcourtney at gmail dot com.

We will be hosting a fundraising event at the Churchill Seniors’ Recreation Centre in Ottawa on Saturday, September 14th beginning at 6p. Come join us and spread the word.