Bilal and Zoya* came to Canada to escape conflict and seek a better future for their children. Your support is giving them the secure foundation they need.
“We were living in hell… And now, it’s like we moved to heaven,” Bilal says, glancing down at his youngest son, Mahmoud, who is peeking out shyly from behind his leg. His wife, Zoya, and his two older kids are by his side.
Bilal and Zoya came to Canada to escape the conflict that has long gripped their home country.
“Every day, there were bomb blasts. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t have a proper education for your kids. You don’t have a secure future.”
Bilal and Zoya are incredibly grateful for their new community, and the opportunities that it represents for them and their children. But, like many newcomers, their first months haven’t been without challenges.
Bilal and Zoya are working hard to set their family up for success.
“I’m just completing my business management course,” he shares. “As a student, I don’t currently have a source of income. I’m being supported by OSAP. So after rent, we don’t have much left over.”
“It’s been quite difficult for us. We are sacrificing a lot. But once I graduate and get a job, everything will be fine.”
Thankfully, until that day comes, their family can rely on their neighbourhood food bank.
“It’s such a great relief,” Bilal says. “When you are in trouble, and you get support. I can’t even put into words what it means. I’m so grateful to the people here.”
Right now, the cost of groceries alone will require two-thirds of a family’s annual income, leaving next to nothing for other essentials like housing, utilities, clothing, and transportation.
Whether they are families like Bilal and Zoya, working to build a future for their kids, or a single mother who can’t keep up with the soaring cost of living—it’s caring people like you who provide the security and support they need— not just to survive, but to thrive.
