MUSLIM FOOD BANK AND COMMUNITY SERVICES: Giving a Warm Welcome
6-28-2016
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MUSLIM FOOD BANK AND COMMUNITY SERVICES: Giving a Warm Welcome
Every year, Canada admits refugees from all parts of the world and for the past six years, the Muslim Food Bank and Community Services Society (“MFB”) has been supporting the specific needs of the Muslim refugee group at multiple levels. Along with providing food and clothing, the Refugee Support Program (RSP) was developed to focus on the unique challenges these refugees face during the settlement process. The program has provided new arrivals to Canada with cultural orientation, Conversational English classes, interpretation services, baby supplies, cell phone support and computers, school supplies, and even furniture.
Building Community
One of the guiding mandates of MFB is encouraging self-reliance in all our clients. We strongly believe in helping people become productive members of Canadian society and have developed the ASPIRE program specifically for that purpose. Under the guidance of our social workers, volunteer community caseworkers establish a sense of community and also empower clients as they navigate their way to a brighter future. Some of ASPIRE’s services provided include:
· Employment support
· Housing support and advocacy
· Support in navigation the BC Education system
· Emotional support
We also have a Connect A Family program that matches newcomers with local host families to make settlement and integration easier. We have already introduced and connected more than thirty families and hope to connect many more.
The gratitude shown by these families for the caseworkers’ assistance and empathy during such difficult times and other such moments are what keep us inspired and motivated to continue. Knowing that our efforts, however small, are making an impact on other lives not only serves as a lesson in humility but also as a reminder that service is its own reward.
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ABOUT MFB
We are a community based charitable organization that provides food assistance and advocates self-reliance by providing case management, emotional support, youth development and capacity building. Our core values are Respect, Collaboration, Confidentiality, Integrity and Humility and we aim to be a sustainable organization that promotes education, empathy and dignity through holistic interventions.
The organization started in 2010 and has since grown to include several programs. Our clients are primarily refugees and new immigrant families to Canada, who require assistance to overcome often significant barriers to integrating successfully. We provided food hampers that are catered to specific dietary needs (vegan and religious dietary restrictions) to approximately 600 clients, mostly families, or about 3,000 people. The number continues to grow as refugees come from Syria, Iraq, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Yemen and other war-torn countries and settle down in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. On monthly basis, we also provide about 400 meals to homeless people in the downtown Eastside. You can find us online at www.muslimfoodbank.com, on Facebook.com/MuslimFoodBank and Twitter @muslimfoodbank.
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