Afghan refugees settling in for first Christmas in Canada

It’s a holiday season of firsts — in a brand new country.

Zainab Al-Musawi, team leader of the resettlement assistance program with the Saskatoon Open Door Society, said that’s the case for the 226 refugees from Afghanistan the program has welcomed since September.

Some of those refugees have been moved to other communities, but most have been settled into permanent accommodations, with children registered for school and adults registered for language and job programs.

Families have also been given winter clothing to help prepare them for the harsh cold of a Saskatchewan winter, Al-Musawi said.

On the schedule to help them experience a truly Canadian Christmas: A trip to Saskatoon’s Enchanted Forest.

“That’ll be great for them to have that experience and a very good opportunity to show them what this time of the year looks like in Canada and what it means to many Canadians,” Al-Musawi explained.

She said the plan and goal of this time of year for the Open Door’s organization is to further settle and support the refugees who have arrived this year in Canada.

Various fundraising and donation events like Christmas hampers have been co-ordinated to help further support those who are new to the country. Al-Musawi said that the Open Door Society will be accepting hamper gifts until Dec. 21 and that the society is very grateful to everyone who has partnered with the organization this holiday season.

“We’ve tried as best we can to settle them and they are happy,” she said, thanking the community for their ongoing support.