Change starts here.
Change starts here.
When Amintha’s three young children walk into the Surrey-based Umoja Operation Compassion Society, their wide-eyed faces light up. They can’t wait for the fun to begin.
After all, Umoja is a like a second home to Siaka, 5, Teneh, 2, and 1-year old Maria. They have benefited from the society’s Success By 6 program, funded by United Way of the Lower Mainland. The program is helping children of African immigrants and newcomers to Canada.
It is here that children’s books like Clifford the Big Red Dog sit alongside books like A Day in the Life of Africa and an old copy of the provincial newcomers’ guide.
For Amintha’s children and many others, Success By 6 include early childhood activities like story time and learning to sing. Parents participate so that they can learn basic parenting skills and how to relate to their young children. The early childhood development program paves the way to a successful transition to school, helping with the total development of children.
“My children are so happy,” said Amintha, 26. “Anything that is good for children, they are getting from Umoja.”
The activities aim to teach children how to focus and foster two-way communication, helping parents and children bridge the gap between their old lives and their new ones in Canada.
Umoja was started in 2005 by Amos Kambere and his wife, both immigrants from Uganda. The couple saw an influx of African immigrants who were becoming isolated and not accessing services that would help in their successful integration into Canada.
The Umoja Operation Compassion Society was born to help meet the needs of parents and children, and started by focusing on Success By 6.
United Way of the Lower Mainland is committed to helping children by significantly increasing the number of school-ready children in Metro Vancouver through Success By 6 support.
Like many of the roughly 120 families whose lives have been touched by the services of Umoja since it opened, Amintha and her family have compelling stories about their journey from Africa.
Amintha herself was born in Sierra Leone, but was forced to leave during an outbreak of fighting, when people scattered everywhere. Amintha was separated from her parents, and at the age of 7, ended up in Lebanon. She never went to school. Amintha eventually met her husband Mohamed, a refugee from Sierra Leone, and they lived in a refugee camp in Lebanon.
“It was difficult, sometimes no food, sometimes no work,” said Amintha, adding that even when there was work, there was no guarantee it would be paid work.
In 2005, the Kabba family was chosen to relocate to Canada.
“When I came here, I was not talking with anybody,” said Amintha. “I used to live in Lebanon in refugee (camp) so everything I used to do by myself, I didn’t have anybody.”
Since becoming involved with Umoja, her eldest children, Siaka and Teneh, have thrived.
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