JIAS Toronto is a Jewish agency that upholds Canada’s commitment to embracing immigrants and refugees. All newcomers should be warmly welcomed, well serviced, and connected to communities. They have the right to be safe, treated with dignity and respect, and valued for their traditions, cultures, achievements, and aspirations. We believe that newcomers should be provided with the choices and opportunities that will empower them towards self-reliance.
2021 was a devastating year for many families from Afghanistan. With the withdrawal of international forces from the country there was a mass exodus of refugees that found themselves settled in foreign lands all over the world. Canada played its part is steeling these refugees who found themselves without resources in a strange land and, in many cases, did not speak the language making the situation even more difficult.
As with most challenges of this nature it is the children that our hearts go out to. Uprooted from everything they know and, in many cases, not having surviving family members to take care of them, they have most challenging circumstances to navigate. STEM Camp’s role in this crisis was to provide no-cost camp spots for children of refugee families so they could experience a summer camp, meet new friends and hopefully start their new lives with a smile on their face. STEM camp is grateful to the Jewish Immigrant Aid Services organization for bringing this matter to our attention and hope that, in some small way, we helped to bring a few smiles to these faces.
