Refugee Stories

Every minute, 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror.”

(United Nations)

The CCLC has helped thousands of refugees resettle in London.  Here are some of our client stories:

Luis’ story

In 2016, Luis was a 19-year-old medical student from Venezuela who had big dreams. Suddenly, he found himself fleeing for his life and coming to Canada.  He left behind family, friends, and everything he knew. Alone and with limited resources, he struggled to find the strength to start over. The CCLC’s Josephs’ House offered him a safe place to live as well as access to orientation and the emotional support he needed.

Today, Luis is a Fanshawe student.  Along with his brother and sister who also fled Venezuela, they are building a new life in London.  In 2019, Luis won the CCLC’s Josephs’ House Scholarship.  “I was thrilled when I learned I was the scholarship recipient!” Luis says he is happier than ever and plans to follow his dream of one day becoming a doctor.

Ramzya’s story

Ramzya is 21 years old. She was enslaved by Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in Iraq for more than two years before arriving in Canada in May 2017 with her brother.  She is among the 300 Yazidi Kurdish-speaking refugees who came to London from Iraq between 2016 and 2017.

“I remember my early days in Canada with lots of confusion and dependency. I knew that I was in the safest place on the earth, my state of mind is not in the position to accept it completely because of my past. My horrible past, my family members back home and my two sisters who are still in captivity, was making me very unstable.

The support and services that I received from Cross Cultural Learner Centre helps me a lot to fight with my problems and issues. Connection with different service providers and counsellor helps me a lot. I was very uncomfortable and constantly felt low and did not value my life earlier. Now I feel very safe and happy. I feel that I also have good future. I made a lot of Canadian friends. I can do most of the things myself without help from anybody and I can speak English. Recently I did interview in CBC in English. I was volunteering with CCLC in different programs as well as other organizations. Now I feel that I am ready for a job and actively looking for it.”