Success By 6: First steps in a new country

Success By 6: First steps in a new country

Twenty two-year-old Nabila fled Afghanistan with her young son Huzair, feeling there was no future for her family in the war-ravaged country.

After settling in, she began adjusting to life in a strange new country, improving her English and caring for her young son.

But it was lonely at first. Then, one day she heard about a new program in Surrey called First Steps. The program helps young refugee children and their caregivers settle into their communities.

Now Nabila attends the First Steps Centre three times a week so that Huzair can learn English, meet children his own age and learn how to do things the Canadian way.

“It’s a very good program because he was alone and there were no other children for him to play with,” says Nabila. He learns lots of singing and can understand English and also talk. He gets courage.”

The First Steps program in Surrey started in late summer 2008. It’s one of five Early Childhood Development Refugee Pilot Projects funded by United Way of the Lower Mainland.

It’s a priority for United Way and its many partners to helping children and supporting their healthy development through 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.

In 2008, British Columbia received 43,951 immigrants who, for the most part, settled in the largest centres throughout the region, such as Burnaby, Surrey, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver. 

United Way is committed to three years of funding for each of the five Early Childhood Development Refugee Pilot Projects in communities throughout Metro Vancouver: Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Tri-Cities, Langley and Richmond.