How CSRF helped Umoja support the changing needs of newcomers in the wake of COVID-19

Newcomers to Canada can face a wide range of obstacles to well-being and success, including language barriers, skills gaps, culture shock, and in many cases, the complex impacts of trauma.

During COVID-19, these pre-existing challenges were only compounded — leading to a significant increase in the need for community-based supports and services like those offered by Umoja Operation Compassion Society.

Based in Surrey, BC, Umoja — a Kiswahili word meaning “unity” — was formed in 2003 to help newcomer immigrants and refugees successfully and holistically integrate into their new surroundings. Using a culturally attuned, trauma-informed approach, Umoja provides essential programming for newcomers at risk of socioeconomic marginalization due to poverty, race, religion, cultural background, and other intersecting factors.

In the wake of the pandemic, Umoja identified an urgent need to strengthen and adapt its programs to meet the changing needs of those it serves and enhance its organizational resilience.

With support from the Community Services Recovery Fund (CSRF), Umoja invested in the modernization of its facilities to enhance its capacity to deliver programming for individuals, families, and children — including through its youth programs, UMOJA United Way School’s Out and Future Leaders, Adult Literacy and Life Skills, Early Years Parenting, and digital skills programs for newcomer men and women.

The modernization effort included setting up a new virtual conference room with an overhead projector, laptops, audio equipment, a TV screen, digital cameras, and other technology. The upgraded space has significantly improved the ability to Umoja’s service users to communicate with prospective employers and community-based resources, find meaningful work, and connect with other newcomers through recreational and leisure activities organized by Umoja.

Mothers with young children are among those who have particularly benefitted from these changes. Now able to use a laptop onsite or borrow one to take one, mothers have much greater flexibility to participate in training or seek employment opportunities without the added worry of childcare.

“CSRF has helped Umoja become a benchmark organization by enhancing its versatility, creativity, and efficiency to the benefit of our clients,” says Jonathan Cauri, Executive Director of Umoja Operation Compassion Society. “Everything has been transformed, and we are now better set up for our mission continuity and properly suited to serve increasing current and future community needs.”