A young single mom is seeing rainbows after receiving the keys to her new home in Coquitlam and hundreds of dollars in gifts and donated dishes and furniture.
Heba Karim, whose family fled the fighting in Iraq in 2007 and ended up in Canada as refugees after living in Syria for three years, is now the proud tenant of a three-bedroom townhouse, where she and her four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter can now live in peace.
“How can I thank them,” was Karim’s comment after she accepted the keys and a gift bag of rainbow toys and decorations from residents collected by Coquitlam Coun. Teri Towner.
Towner, who works with the group Friends of Tri-Cities Refugees that renovates dilapidated buildings for refugees, issued a call for help earlier this month to get a rainbow decal to decorate the room where Karim’s son, Adam, will sleep.
The boy has been diagnosed on the autism spectrum and loves rainbows, said his mother.
Within days, Towner said, the Rainbow fundraiser not only exceeded its goal, raising $600 in funds, but rainbow-coloured balls, pens and stickers were contributed as well to welcome the family to the new home.
“I am so thrilled at the generosity of people,” commented Towner as she gave the bag of gifts to Karim, while on a tour of the townhome refurbished by Noura Homes.
The Coquitlam townhome is one of a number of units at a non-profit housing project that Friends of Tri-Cities Refugees has renovated with donated funds, support from the Coquitlam Men’s Shed and other groups. Families who move into the suites pay rent based on their income.
As Karim walked from room to room, her eyes glittered and she couldn’t hold back her enthusiasm.
“I’m so excited," she said. "I told my mother I’m living a dream and she has to come over and see it for herself.”
Karim's life hasn’t been easy in the years since her father passed away in Iraq. The family of seven was left destitute and when war accelerated, her mother and six children fled to Syria, which had its own troubles.
Eventually the family was accepted to Canada as refugees and while living in Surrey as a teenager, Karim learned English working at A&W and completed most of her high school education.
She later married and had two children, but her husband left, making it important for Heba to complete her education and support her kids.
Now, she is about to graduate from Surrey’s Queen Elizabeth secondary school and is planing to upgrade her math and biology courses this fall so she can apply to go back to college for a degree.
She wants to work as a social worker or a midwife in the hopes that one day she can help other Arabic-speaking people.
“I hope I can help people who are in the same situation as me," Karim said. "I think of life as a circle.”
For the full details of this project, visit Tri-Cities Friends of Refugees on Facebook.
