Program matching refugees with Calgarians says demand for volunteers at all time high

Marsha Brodrick sets her hands gently on the shoulders ofa young Yazidigirl who now calls Calgary home in a sunny backyard in the city'ssouthwest. It'sthetype oftouch usually reserved fora dotinggrandmother or the closest of family members.

That's exactly what Brodrick hasbecome to SharafKhudeeda's family, who escaped Iraqand the terror ofIslamic State militants in 2014. The family spent time at theSharia Refugee Camp in theKurdistan region ofIraq before arriving in Canada in 2017, where they arenow well on the way torebuilding newlives.

They are safe now, butit's not been easy. Their stories are harrowing and their challenges startinga new lifeare many.

The retired teacher, a volunteer with the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, stepped into the family of seven's lives when theyarrived here and is still helping them today, bridgingthegap between two very different cultures, helping where she can.

The familysurvived the persecution of Yazidis, a religious minority group,by the Islamic State. Women were brutalized and forcedinto sexualslavery and menwere tortured and killed, includingseveral of the family's extended family members. Their faded pictures sit in frames around theKhudeedahome. One features 16 different faces, all men.

Sittingon an olddining chair outsidein the backyard as the birds sing and thetrees sway gently in thebreezeSharafKhudeedasays life is good now.

"We are here, we are working, we don't have a problem, life is better," saidKhudeeda.

They say abig part of the family'ssuccess has been the help they've received from their volunteer,Brodrick.

Volunteers play a very different role than settlement agencies and theircounsellors. Volunteers make themselves available tofieldquestions from how to deal with mail and billsto explaining howbanking works and using computers. There are also questions relating to learning and speaking English, even helping kids get to their soccer games just helping tomakesense of day-to-day life in Calgary.

"It's really important, especially the first year and second year. Marsha helped us with everything, even now. When we get mail we just look at it, we don't understand," saidKhudeeda, who spoke Kurmanjiwhen he arrivedandhad tolearnEnglish from scratch. "Marsha says do this, do that, it's really helpful. I always say thank you so much to Marsha," he said.

Khudeedanowhas a construction job, a carandrents a house. His next goal is to buy their first home.His kids are busy with school, soccer and video games.

"I am proud to be Canadian. I'm happy I'm here," he said.

Brodrick started volunteering soon after retirement. She says the journey ittook her on was beyond what she ever expected.The family set themselvesgoals to success and Brodrick helped to guide andrealize them.

"Every little increment makes you feel more at home," she said.

"Sometimes it was helping in the kitchen, sometimes it was taking the mumsshopping, showing them how to pay for things.They didn't know what a quarter was, all the little things you don't think of," said Brodrick.

"They used to get on a bus and travel an hour each way just to ask someonea question but now they can just send mea picture to me on their phone and it savesthem hours of travel."

"Volunteering is for anybody that likes people," said Brodrick. "Everybody has a different skill set. For me I had four sons, so I was good with the kids, also four boys. You can do whatever's comfortable for you. You can just meet in a park on a weekend for an hour, it's up to the volunteer to decide."

Some volunteers move on once families are established, others like Brodrickfind thatthey've madefriends for life.

Agencies like the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society say theyare in dire need of more volunteers willing to make thejump into the unknown and start their own unique journeys with newcomer families.

They currently have 1,300 new refugees waiting to start new lives here. A thousandof those are from Afghanistan, here as part ofthe federal government's promise to offer a lifeline following the return of the Taliban in that country. They are numbers they say they'venot seen in decades.

"Volunteers are very special people. They are driven by passion and empathy and they do fabulous things to welcome those who have found themselves in really difficult situations facing big change," saidBeata Lutaba with the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society.

"We are in great need for volunteers. There are so many refugees nowten times more than what we'dusually get," said Lutaba.

The refugees are coming from all over the world. Many who were accepted and processed previouslyare now arriving after being delayed by the pandemic. There are also large numbers of Afghan refugees and Ukrainian evacuees arriving in the city.

Not far from theKhudeedahome are some of those morerecentarrivals, swapping their home in the chaos ofKabul for an old condo building on asleepy street in south Calgary:three sisters that escaped the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, arriving in Calgary in February followinga five month stay inMacedonia where they wereconfined to a hotel for their entire stay.

"When we came to Canada we were free. We could go out, it was like heaven for us. We were not forced to wear a hijab any more and nobody was asking us about our beliefs, we could say whatever we wanted," saidZohraHussaini, who landed here with her sisters Kowsar and Sarah.

The threesisters lost their own mother eight years ago but say they've found a new one in the form of volunteer Anne-Marie Kemp.

"Wedidn't have a mother and we asked for a foster mother, someone who could act like our mother. For a long time we didn't have a personwho could help with emotional support. When we met Anne-Mariewe found her kind-hearted, caring and she was like a mother to us. We owe her a lot," said Hussaini.

Kemp helped the sisters accessfood banks, familiarized themwith the city, including which stores to shop at,and helped them revive much-lovedhobbies that had become lost in the turmoil, including painting, providing them with all the materials. Kemp connected one of the sisters with a guitar, something she had to leave behind in Kabul.

"We didn't know what to do, we were lost," said Hussaini.

The sisters are completing universitydegrees and hope to apply for masters degreesand eventually completePhDs. They say being twinned with aformer educatoras a volunteer is the perfect match. They say having someone to talk to and answer their questions made their first few months so much easier.

"Now we have a mother, a house, freedom," said Hussaini.

Anne-Marie Kemp has volunteered with other families over the years, including Yazidi and Syrian families.

"It's a very joyful opportunity to welcome new Canadians. Many of them, especially women, sometimesfeel very alone and there's so much we can do," she said.

"It's not really work, it's a pleasure. It's really educational. We have wonderful exchanges about cultural ideas, their culture," said Kemp.

"It's been wonderful. We've quickly become family and friends for life," shesaid.

She says she's found connection through food, art and crafts andgames along with company and companionship. She's introduced families to Canadian traditions, food and institutions, including Calgary's public library system and local museums.

"With oneSyrian family, we went to Heritage Park and we had a banquetof Syrian food on the steam boat and the children got to enjoy the rides and had ice cream for the first time," said Kemp.

Kemp says her job is to embrace, encourage and educate families on life in Alberta andCanada, includingthe long list of opportunities that the country offers all Canadians.

She says volunteering with newcomershasbeen a life-affirming experience and she's gained as much as she's given.

"I'm learning more all the time," said Kemp.