Safaa, who considers herself a “citizen of the world” arrived in Hamilton in 2021 as a refugee from Sudan after having grown up in Jordan and Chad. At only 19 years old, moving to Canada meant adjusting to language, community, employment, and cultural barriers during both the height of a global pandemic and the onset of her young adulthood.

With her energetic, warm personality and ambitious spirit, Safaa has wasted no time since arriving in Hamilton. Seeking any opportunity possible to grow her skills and find a path for herself, she quickly connected with the local settlement sector and found her first job at Welcome Inn Community Centre, a place she considers a second home.

In less than two years, Safaa has mastered an entirely new language, started her career, been accepted into post secondary studies and gained an abundance of new skills from – riding a bike to driving a car.

Now enrolled as a full-time student, she dreams of graduating and giving back to the city that helped her to thrive.