There’s no better way to ease a transition to Canada than learning the game of hockey, and a new program at the Catholic Immigration Centre is taking Burmese youth to the ice.
“We’re trying to integrate them in Ottawa and one of the easiest ways to do that is through sports,” says Nicola Hodson, coordinator of the CIC’s Youth Host program.
Every Monday night from early January to March 23, Hodson and two other centre employees organized about 20 kids at Centretown’s McNabb Recreation Centre to play some pick-up hockey.
Their smiles showed how special it was to hit the ice.
Kelvin Gay, a 19-year-old refugee, played his first game in late March.
“I’m very happy and very excited,” he said as he suited up donning a Daniel Alfredsson toque. “This is my first time playing here and it’s going to be fun.”
Hodson says the new hockey players have learned more than just how to skate. They’ve gained newfound confidence.
Some of them have been in Canada for as long as two years, and hockey has been a new experience. Getting out and being active has helped their language skills, too, Hodson says.
“It helps with the English, as well it helps them feel more comfortable to practice,” she says. “When you’re playing sports you get into it so you’re not so self-conscious about speaking.”
The program has also helped its participants make new friends.
“I meet very, very many friends, on the canal, whenever I try to skate,” Gay says.
On the last day, the kids’ infectious energy was apparent at the rink even before they hit the ice. Most arrived early and glued their faces to the glass, watching an earlier game with wide eyes.
This same energy also motivated observing players to jump on the ice with them this year.
“We ended up getting about three or four students from the neighbourhood who played with them once or twice for the whole hour and they build friendships and relationships that way,” Hodson says.
The program’s staff was limited and equipment was sparse, despite some donations from the community.
While everyone had skates, only half of the players, aged 14 to 24, had jerseys, and even fewer had shin pads or shoulder pads. None had both and none wore a helmet.
There were no injuries in the program’s first year, though Hodson says sports will continue through introducing soccer and volleyball, and will begin with hockey and skating again next winter.
Hodson says the centre hopes to recruit more youth from a wider range of countries around the world.
Donations can be made through CIC at www.cic.ca.