Shihabeldean Abdelrahim Ali Sabil
Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) Counsellor
Abimbola Oluwaseun
Personal Support Worker
Strong communities are built on stability. Ensuring access to employment and newcomer services helps us all.
Newcomers to Canada can face challenges such as language barriers, a difficult housing market, and problems finding a job.
Since 1952, COSTI has been working with newcomer-community members, providing programs and services to help them integrate into Canadian society.
Success means different things to everyone. Which is why COSTI provides programs in skills and language training, social services, refugee services, and employment services to individuals to help them succeed.
‘Just the beginning’ for Canadian newcomers
For Shihabeldean Abdelrahim Ali Sabil, success lay in finding meaningful employment helping others. After fleeing instability in Sudan, Shihabeldean volunteered at refugee camps in Jordan before earning a scholarship to study social work in the US. From there he was privately sponsored to come to Canada, where he found COSTI. By dedicating himself to ESL classes and volunteering with the Red Cross and at COSTI, Shihabeldean fulfilled his desire to help those in need while gaining valuable skills and insights into life in Canada. Ultimately, he landed a job as a Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) Counsellor. “Helping others is always fulfilling!” he says.
After arriving from Nigeria as a pregnant refugee claimant with a toddler, Abimbola Oluwaseun’s path to success was not an easy one. Abimbola found a safe home at a COSTI temporary shelter and accessed resources to help her flourish. With this support, she completed training as a personal support worker, earning a bursary for her educational achievements and community contributions, such as volunteering at a food bank. Abimbola and her young sons have now moved into their own apartment. She dreams of reuniting with her family, pursuing a career in nursing, and continuing to give back to the community. “This is just the beginning!” she says.
COSTI delivers a comprehensive range of services to empower individuals from diverse backgrounds, including newcomers to successfully settle into their new home-country and achieve their full potential.
Learn more about our programs and services at costi.org.
