George Chabo, a young syrian refugee man of 21 years, decided to go to help in NURSING homes to restore in Quebec.
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July 5, 2020 10: 12
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A young syrian refugee man wants to give back in Quebec, working in NURSING homes
Stéphanie Marin
The Canadian Press
MONTREAL — A young syrian refugee man, received in Montreal in the winter of 2016 by representatives of the Red Cross-equipped with boots and warm coats for him and his family, going to work in a CHSLD : he wants to give back to the humanitarian organization and the société québécoise who have welcomed and assisted.
George Chabo is 21 years old. This week, he was sitting in a “classroom”, installed in a hotel in Montreal, listening carefully to a lecture given by the Red Cross.
The organization form of the future “aid service”, intended to lend a hand to the staff overwhelmed residences for seniors in quebec. These paid workers will replace the soldiers of the canadian army who have recently left NURSING homes. This is the canadian Red Cross who has received the mandate to train up to 900 aid service, but also other types of employees.
George is a student, like many young people his age. But instead of thinking only to have fun this summer, it has lifted the hand to go help vulnerable seniors.
Met during a break from his training of four days, during which he learned among other things how to take care of the elderly, the young man explained why he applied for this to work.
“We have lived difficult situations in our country, Syria. We know what it is seizures. It includes. It has empathy.”
But this is mainly to help the elderly, ” he said in a French applied. “It is a difficult time for us, but especially for them,” says the young man with the soft voice and smiling eyes.
He said he is convinced that his work is going to be a beautiful experience.
“The seniors, they have a beautiful experience of life. They have a lot of things to tell”, has described George, who said there should be already a certain ease in the matter, because his family takes care of her paternal grandparents.
“It is rewarding to help them.”
But also, he has not forgotten what the Red Cross has done for him and his family.
He knows the organization and its mission, which is present in Syria, his country of origin, torn by war since 2011. It is also the Red Cross that helped his family in Lebanon to make the necessary medical checks on their arrival in Canada.
And then, most importantly, this day of February, 2016, when he was only 17 years old, representatives of the organization were at the Montréal airport, to welcome him with warm clothing, and help them to carry out certain steps in the immigration process.
The family — his parents, his sister and his brother — in-law has also had the chance to be sponsored by Quebec.
When George got wind of the recruitment campaign of the Red Cross, he jumped on the opportunity. He wasn’t looking for a job, because it was already working.
He says that he also wants to give back in Quebec.
“As an exchange, I find that it is a good idea to help the community like that. I have the desire to give back to society for their warm hospitality.”
This is not the first time that George has been involved: he worked as a volunteer for the festivities of the 375th anniversary of the founding of Montréal, an event he described as “exceptional” and “awesome”.
On Tuesday, he said not to be worried of contracting the COVID-19 in working in a ltc facility, where the virus has hit the hardest.
The situation is less worse than it was in the spring, ” he said. And then, he said he is confident that the measures “a lot stricter” implemented by the canadian Red Cross will be effective.
The first cohort trained by the Red Cross, approximately 150 people, must begin to be deployed from Monday in a variety of residences for seniors.
