Mr. Bashar Kassir is like many of the YMCA Newcomer Information Centre clients. He came to us in 2002 during his first days in Toronto, curious and willing to learn. Bashar was quick to utilize the resources offered by Newcomer Information Centre to help him find a job, a place to live and improve his English skills. Today he is completely settled into his new country, the proud owner of two Canadian businesses, father and husband to a happy family and proud to live in Toronto.

Here, in his own words, is his story.

“I landed in Toronto on July 30, 2002, alone and tired after three days of delays in Amsterdam. My reservation at a small hotel had expired and I had no clue where to go! Weighed down by my luggage I saw a volunteer counter at the airport offering some basic. On their advice I found myself in a downtown motel.

The next day I headed to the YMCA on Charles Street. On my way I grabbed some rental magazines and newspapers and began calling the apartments from the YMCA.  By 3:30 p.m. I had signed a one-year lease on a bachelor apartment.

I moved in the next day and by the end of the week I registered for my Social Insurance Number (SIN) and Ontario Health Insurance Policy (OHIP) cards.  Now all I needed now was a job! So back I went to YMCA, but nothing came up. Although I have four years of international experience worked for an American company, I was asked ‘where is your Canadian Experience’?

A number of frustrating weeks passed before I landed my first job in a call center where I was eager to gain Canadian experience everyone talks about.

Soon after I went home to Syria to relax, get married and help my new wife apply for her Canadian visa.  I returned to Toronto in May 2003, and one month later I landed a good job with a good company; I started my own business and bought a one-bedroom condo in downtown Toronto.

Now, five years later arriving in Toronto for the first time, I have a Wine Agency called Palmyra that represents international wine and spirits producers in Canada and I have started a side business to import Olive Oil and Vinegar to Ontario and Quebec.

On a personal level, my lovely wife Hala, came from Syria in 2004 and one year later we welcomed our first child Christoph. We are now looking for a bigger home so that we can bring my parents and my parents-in-law to our new city, Toronto.

I have to thank the YMCA Newcomer Information Centre for all the assistance they offered me when I needed their help. I continue my relationship with them because I feel they offer unique and useful support to newcomers to Canada. Additionally, the YMCA staff and volunteers provide a warm and a sincere welcome, beyond just being on a duty in a day job. I believe that there personnel are of an exceptional quality.”