“I was so scared when we arrived in Canada that I told my husband we needed to go back to India.” Two years later life is a lot better for Hyma and her young family thanks to the caring people at Yonge Street Mission in Toronto.
They arrived in Canada with the promise of a job in the computer industry for her husband and little else. It was a lonely and frustrating time for Hyma. Her daughter cried all day, missing her grandparents, aunts and cousins. With no money to afford daycare, Hyma couldn’t work. She pushed her stroller through the streets of the city with her distraught daughter, unsure of where to turn for help.
Then one day she walked into the Yonge Street Mission and her life took a turn for the better. She signed up for a computer class and reluctantly left her daughter at the Mission daycare. As Hyma learned about e-mail, word documents and PowerPoint presentations, her daughter started to play with the other children. She began to smile, sing and dance. “I’m OK, I’m a big girl now,” she proudly told her mom one day after class.
Although her husband is working, money is tight. By choice, they live frugally and send every extra cent to their family-run orphanage in India that looks after children with AIDS. They have never celebrated Christmas in Canada. “Last year we were going to go to a restaurant but we sent money to India instead and fed 100 people at the orphanage.”
Not too long ago the children in the orphanage sent a message to their generous “angels” in Canada. They told Hyma and her husband they were praying for them. Those prayers have been answered. The people at the Yonge Street Mission are looking after Hyma and her family with computer classes, support services, and friendship. She recently went to the Yonge Street Mission’s Christmas Market, which distributes donated gifts to families in need. Now, for the first time since they arrived in Canada, Hyma’s daughter will finally know the joy so many children experience Christmas morning, a brand new toy to unwrap and love.
