Resources for refugees & sponsors

Updated March 19th, 2016: I have so many resources to add to this list! I hope to expand this list further, but right now I know of many private sponsorship groups that are looking for resources translated into Arabic, so I have concentrated on making that section comprehensive. Please let me know if there are any Arabic resources for newcomers that I could add to this list (refugeesbelong@gmail.com). 

Select one of the following links to jump to different sections on this page: 
Resources in other languages for newcomers (with a focus on Arabic resources): 
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  • Government of Canada information on 911 emergency services, mobile phone contract rights, and list of TV and radio stations that offer Arabic content - Arabic and English webpage.  

  • Information in Arabic [PDF] about using the 811 Nurse hotline to ask health-related questions. Arabic interpretation is available over the phone when you call 811 in Nova Scotia. Newcomers can also call 211 in Nova Scotia to access information about non-profit community services and government services. By verbally indicating a phrase like "interpreter Arabic" when they call, they can get access to an Arabic-speaker/interpreter who will field their questions about community and government services in the province (interpretation services are also available in 100 other languages). You can also access 311 in Arabic and over 150 other languages in the same way. 311 is a number that can be used by residents in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) to get information about HRM services or programs or to make a request for services. 


  • Guide for parents: Taking care of you and your baby. This 28-page booklet provides information about the parent's physical and emotional health and how to keep their baby healthy and safe with topics such as: rest and exercise, healthy food, bath time, changing a diaper, safe sleeping, and care safety. It can be downloaded as a PDF in many different languages. 


  • First Steps Orientation Guide for Newcomers in Arabic was provided by ISANS, in Halifax Nova Scotia, and provides information for Arabic-speaking newcomers about what they need to do when they arrive. It was written for government-assisted refugees so the information is not all relevant to privately sponsored refugees, but it is still useful. You can read the English version here. 

  • Newcomer's guide to Halifax in Arabic [PDF]. It is from 2011, so it is slightly outdated. A more recent version does not exist right now. In 2011 ISANS was called ISIS for example, so this would be something to clarify before using the document! It also features the 'penny' in its explanation about money, which no longer exists. However, it is still useful if some of these changes are pointed out.


  • The Read To Me Program is a non-profit, hospital-based early reading promotion program provides a bag of books and reading information to every baby born in Nova Scotia. Over the past few months they have been working with ISANS to distribute a special bag of Arabic and English resources to government sponsored refugees. The bag includes a letter of welcome, two Arabic language baby books, Read to Me’s Family Reading Guide in Arabic, information about the public library along with some English language children’s books donated by Canadian publishers. Groups that are privately sponsoring families with children under the age of 2 can contact Read to Me to receive a bag for the family. They have a limited number of books in Kurdish as well. Please contact Shanda LaRamee-Jones by email @ shanda.laramee@iwk.nshealth.ca with the name of your sponsorship group, a mailing address where the bag can be received as well as the preferred language (Arabic or Kurdish).


  • Explanation of the private sponsorship of refugees (PSR) program and the blended visa office-referred (BVOR) program in many different languages including Arabic. You can access the all the translated versions on the government website, or download the Arabic PDF that describes the PSR program or the BVOR program. Both documents feature a lot of cultural information about Canada. They also explain how the refugee family will have to pay back the government for their travel loans - this might not apply to your sponsored family so be sure to clarify this if you use the document. 

  • ISANS' Code of Ethics for Refugee Resettlement in English and Arabic [PDF]. The English version of the Code of Ethics was created by ISANS, and it has been graciously translated into Arabic by Tamim Arabi for Refugees Belong (Attribution - CC BY-NC). This Code of Ethics is meant to serve the sponsors, sponsoring groups, and refugees. It outlines the rights and responsibilities of sponsors, as well as rights and responsibilities of refugees. 

  • A welcome flyer [PDF] designed for Syrian newcomers in Arabic, provided by the Al-Rasoul Islamic Society in Bedford, Nova Scotia. It features contact information and a list of regular programming offered by the Islamic Society. 




  • Citizenship and Immigration Canada has created a video to encourage newcomers to learn one of our official languages. The video also describes the different language training options available.  You can watch the video in English or in Arabic. 

  • The Oxford English-Arabic Picture Dictionary is a fantastic resource that is recommended by many EAL teachers and is used in the government-funded LINC English classes (although students are not given a copy). You can order it through Amazon.ca here. I prefer it over the Visual English-Arabic Bilingual Picture Dictionary (see below) because the font is larger, the pictures are more engaging, and it does not spell out the phonetic sounds of the Arabic words (a feature that is useful for someone learning Arabic, but confusing for someone learning English). I am currently fundraising to purchase a copy of this excellent resource for all the government-assisted refugee families who are being resettled in Halifax. I have started making dictionaries deliveries already - please consider donating here! Bilingual picture dictionaries are great language learning tools because they can be utilized by the whole family and the English translations are accessible for even those who are illiterate in their own language. These dictionaries are also organized by category or theme (with an alphabetized index in the back), which makes them a better learning tool in contrast to a solely text-based bilingual dictionary. 

  • The Visual English-Arabic Bilingual Picture Dictionary can be purchased on Amazon.ca in a hard copy format, or it is accessible as a PDF online. 

  • I compiled a list of some of the most useful phone apps and online resources for learning English [PDF]. I am including this document (as well as copies of the phrasebook below) with the dictionaries I am delivering through the fundraising campaign (see above).

  • A group of volunteers, based in Berlin, Germany, have created a crowd-sourced Refugee Phrasebook in many different languages. You can find out more about the project on their website. I extracted the Arabic and English translations into a Word document. There is the basic phrasebook [DOC], and also a medical phrasebook [DOC] with translations for medical terms and concerns. 

  • Information about the RESP-Canada Learning Bond - a great program that supports low-income families with saving for their children's education. You can find out more about it through the English SmartSaver website, and you can provide your sponsored family with the Arabic SmartSaver website address. The website is also available in many other languages. Use the pull down menu at the top to change the language. 
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  • Scotiabank Arabic video introduction to banking in Canada.

  • Home fire safety guide; a checklist of precautions regarding how to prevent fire in the home. This is available as a Word document in both English [DOC] and Arabic [DOC].


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  • Healthy eating for a healthy baby; this booklet is offered in many different languages and provides information for pregnant women on nutrition in pregnancy. It addresses concerns about alcohol and fish consumption, food safety, weight gain and physical activity. A nutrition quiz, charts and recipes are also included.

  • The guide, 'When children speak more than one language', is offered in many languages (including Arabic) and offers suggestions for parents on supporting their children with achieving proficiency in more than one language. 

  • 'Solving problems at school' is a 2-page tip sheet for parents offered in Arabic, and many other different languages. It provides suggestions for how problems at school can be resolved by talking with your child and different school staff. There is also a 1-page tip sheet in many languages for how to prepare for parent-teacher meetings. 

  • A guide called 'Bullying: We can all help to stop it' is offered in many different languages. Some of the information and resources is Ontario-specific, but much of the educational information about bullying would be relevant for families wherever they live. 

  • This 10-page brochure is offered in many languages and covers postpartum blues, mood disorders and psychosis. It is offered in many languages. Pregnancy, the birth of a baby, or an adoption brings physical, emotional and social changes. Adjustments to the new roles and relationships are not always easy. Parents are encouraged to get help and find ways to take care of themselves. Please note that several of the links are Ontario-based. 

  • 2-page tip sheet in several different languages: You and your baby... Abuse and pregnancy. This tipsheet has information about abuse during pregnancy, including how to recognize abuse, and what someone can do if they are being abused. Creating a safety plan - for abused women, is another guide is offered in many different languages and has information about identifying action steps to increase one's safety, and preparing in advance for the possibility of further violence. This information package was put together by women who have survived abusive situations. The Department of Justice Canada has also produced a thorough, 56-page document, offered in many different languages called 'Abuse is wrong in any language'. It was written "for anyone who is new to Canada and might be living with abuse in a relationship or in a family." The guide addresses physical, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse, as well as intimate partner violence, elder abuse, and child abuse. 

  • Arabic letter stickers can be purchased in order to easily convert a regular computer keyboard into one that can be used to type in Arabic. I purchased this set of Arabic letter stickers from Amazon.ca and was satisfied with them, but there are many other different types available for purchase. Transparent stickers allow you to keep your existing characters and add the new letters to the right lower corner of the keys.​​

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PHASE 1 - Resources for Sponsors (learning about the refugee sponsorship program and preparing for the family's arrival)

**Under Construction**

  • If you are a member of a sponsorship group in Nova Scotia, please request to 'join' the NS Refugee Sponsorship Network group on Facebook so that we can all share ideas and resources. If you are a member of the public who would like to stay updated on refugee-related local and international news, please 'like' our Refugees Belong facebook page.
  • Please check out the Events page to find out more about the regular Private Sponsors of Nova Scotia Roundtable Meetings, which meets in Halifax the 3rd Sunday of September, November, January, March, and May. The purpose of the roundtables is to provide a space for groups to share common challenges and best practices of their sponsorship experience. The roundtables are a way for sponsors to network, problem solve, share resources, spread initiatives, and learn from each other. Coffee and tea provided. Please contact Liz MacBeth for more information and to RSVP @ macbeth.liz@gmail.com. 
  • The Refugee Sponsorship Training Program (RSTP) website (this website has all the information you need to get started with sponsorship - RSTP is funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and administered by Catholic Crosscultural Services)
  • Immigrant Settlement Agency of Nova Scotia's (ISANS') information on private refugee sponsorship. You can download their PDF information guide to private sponsorship here. 
  • The government's Guide to the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program
  • The government's Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Application Guide
  • Some great tips on how to fundraise the money to sponsor a refugee family, written by the Ripple Refugee Project in Toronto. 
  • A great list of resources complied by the Lunenburg Friends sponsorship group. 
  • A great website of resources for sponsors, created by the Peterborough Refugee Network. 
  • A flow-chart [PDF] of the different steps involved in being matched with a refugee family through the BVOR family (after the fundraising and preparatory stages have been accomplished). This flow-chart was created by the United Church. 
  • The Recipes for Refugees on the Syrian Cooking website is a fantastic resource for sponsors, when they are preparing to stock the pantry and collect kitchen tools for their incoming family! The content, still in development, includes a list of Syrian grocery items, kitchen items, recipes and Syrian food culture.
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PHASE 2 - Resources for Sponsors (relevant to the needs of the first month after the sponsored family arrives)

​**Under Construction**
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PHASE 3 - Resources for Sponsors (relevant to the needs of the individual/family, months 2-12 after their arrival)

​**Under Construction**
  • Settlement at Work in Ontario has assembled a wiki page with a huge number of online learning resources related to newcomer health (specifically, mental health). The resources are targeted to settlement workers, who "need to have enhanced capacity to detect early signs of mental health issues in immigrants and refugees, and strengthened ability to connect those at risk to the appropriate services." The resources may be useful for private sponsors as well. 

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Organizations, Agencies, and Departments that provide services to newcomers (and their sponsors)​

​The following list of organizations are organized according to whether they are operate at a municipal and provincial level, national level, or international level. Please note that many of the organizations listed below may also be interested in receiving financial donations or recruiting volunteers to support the running of their programs and services. Please contact info@refugeesbelong.ca if you think this list is missing an important resource!​
Resources in Nova Scotia
​​ISANS is a leading community organization that welcomes immigrants to Nova Scotia. Working in partnership, we offer services and create opportunities to help immigrants to participate fully in Canadian life. We provide a wide range of services to immigrants, from refugee resettlement to professional programs, from family counselling to English in the Workplace. The Refugee Sponsorship Program at ISANS supports people living in Nova Scotia to sponsor refugees.

Address: Mumford Professional Centre, 6960 Mumford Road, Suite 2120 (second floor)
Phone: (902) 423-3607 / Toll free in Nova Scotia: 1-866-431-6472 / Email: info@isans.ca 

Nova Scotia Interpreting Services (NSIS) is a non-profit organization based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We offer in-person and telephone interpreting services to hospitals, government departments and other organizations serving the public. We provide interpreting in over 40 languages including: Arabic, Bosnian, Cantonese, Croatian, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Nepali, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Vietnamese, and many more.

Phone: (902) 425-5532 

The Clinic is a not-for-profit, non-governmental, community based organization that provides no-cost legal and settlement services to refugee claimants in Nova Scotia who are unable to afford the services of private legal counsel. This includes most people in Nova Scotia who have made claims for refugee protection.

Address: 5538 Macara Street
Phone: (902) 422-6736 / Email: halifaxrefugeeclinic@gmail.com 

The Transitional Health Clinic for Refugees provides preventative health and primary medical services for government assisted refugees, privately sponsored refugees and refugee claimants in the greater Halifax area. Patients are supported with finding and transitioning to a family practice in the community within a two year period.

Address: 6960 Mumford Rd. (Dalhousie's Family Medicine Clinic)
Phone: (902) 473-4700

Nova Scotia's Department of Immigration offers many resources to newcomers. You can also read the governments official statement on the refugee crisis. 

Address: 1741 Brunswick Street, Suite 110A
Telephone: (902) 424-5230 / Toll Free in Nova Scotia: 1-877-292-9597
Email: nsnp@novascotia.ca
​The Canadian Red Cross Restoring Family Links program helps people in Canada re-establish contact with immediate family members after separation due to armed conflict, natural disaster, migration and other humanitarian crises.
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Address: 133 Troop Avenue, Dartmouth
Phone: 1 (877) 356-3226

The YMCA provides immigrant youth, children and their families with a variety of program and outreach services. Our approach is to deliver community based support in a Centre that is inclusive and welcoming, as well as to provide onsite services for students at several partner schools. The purpose of YMCA Immigrant Programs is to help immigrants to Canada settle into their new homes in the Halifax Regional Municipality, and to help the mainstream population understand the issues and barriers newcomers face while adjusting and adapting to a new language, culture, climate and community, while maintaining their own.

Address: 65 Main Avenue
Phone: (902) 457-9622 

Welcoming and supporting immigrants to Halifax is an important role of Halifax Public Libraries. Immigrant Services works with newcomers to help create a sense of community and belonging. We bring together longtime Haligonians and our newest citizens to share experiences and forge friendships.

Programs are hosted at various library locations in the Halifax area (there are 15 libraries total in the HRM).

This information is a guide about life in Halifax for you and your family, as new permanent residents. It may also be helpful to you if you are here as a temporary resident, a temporary foreign worker, an international student, a refugee or are just thinking about moving here from another province or country. Learning about Halifax will make your transition a little bit easier.

​The Newcomers’' Guide to the Nova Scotia Schools was developed to help newcomer families understand the P-12 public school system. The guide provides an overview of school policies, procedures and expectations including strategies for you to help with your child’'s learning. 

Since 2005, AWEDA has helped low-income immigrant and refugee women overcome barriers to employment, and expand their horizons. Some of these women are single mothers, older women and abused women. From the outset, the organization's philosophy has been one of inclusiveness and an outreach to these women despite their age, ethnicity, education, religion or disability. As an organization we focus on designing culturally-sensitive programs that combine life skills, basic academic upgrading, skill development, health, social justice, and civic participation.

Address: 3434 Dutch Village Road
Phone: (902) 407 2203 / Email: Info@aweda.ca 

MANS was founded in 1975 and was mandated by the provincial government of Nova Scotia to represent the interests of multicultural organizations and communities in the Province. MANS is a voluntary, non-profit organization that reflects the needs of the community for multicultural education, advocacy and information-sharing.

Address: 1113 Marginal Rd.
Phone: (902) 423-6534 / Email: admin@mans.ns.ca

This webpage provides a list of websites for over 15 different cultural groups in the HRM.
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Resources operating at a national levEL
The Refugee Sponsorship Training Program (RSTP) is a program designed to support the Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs) of Canada, their Constituent Groups, Groups of Five and Community Sponsors on a national level (excl. Quebec). The objective of the RSTP is to address their information and on-going training needs as well as the initial information needs of sponsored refugees. RSTP is funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and administered by Catholic Crosscultural Services).

Address: 55 Town Centre Court, Suite 401, Toronto, Ontario
Phone: 416-290-1700

This publication is intended for private sponsors (i.e., Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs) and their Constituent Groups (CG), Groups of Five (G5) and Community Sponsors (CS)) in Canada who are interested in sponsoring refugees from abroad.

This application guide is a tool that provides the information you must know about this application before sending it to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), and assistance with how to fill out the forms and the required supporting documents.
​The Canadian Council for Refugees is a national non-profit umbrella organization committed to the rights and protection of refugees and other vulnerable migrants in Canada and around the world and to the settlement of refugees and immigrants in Canada.  The membership is made up of organizations involved in the settlement, sponsorship and protection of refugees and immigrants.  The Council serves the networking, information-exchange and advocacy needs of its membership. It has come to be recognized as a key advocate for refugee and immigrant rights in Canada, educating the public and putting issues onto the national agenda. 

Address: 6839 Drolet #301, Montréal, Québec
Phone: (514) 277-7223 / Email:  info@ccrweb.ca

We are a people powered mobilization across Canada seeking justice for refugees and displaced people who are migrating around the world in the search for safety and dignity. We oppose all forms of displacement and affirm the inherent human right to stay, freedom to move, and right to return. This website is coordinated by members of No One Is Illegal groups.   

Email: info@refugeeswelcome.ca ​
resources operating at an internationAL LEVEL
The UNHCR is mandated by the United Nations to lead and coordinate international action to protect people forced to flee their homes due to violence, conflict and persecution. UNHCR provides shelter, food, water, medical care and other life-saving assistance to refugees around the world.The dream of most refugees is to return home. When possible, UNHCR helps refugees return to their homeland. When refugees can’t go back home, we work to find opportunities for them to rebuild their lives in another country. Today, UNHCR’s committed staff of 8,600 work in more than 125 countries—saving and protecting lives and building a better future for 16.7 million refugees, 33.3 million internally displaced people and 1.1 million asylum-seekers. Please see the website for the UNHCR's special focus on the Syrian crisis here. ​

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest humanitarian network in the world. Its mission is to alleviate human suffering, protect life and health, and uphold human dignity especially during armed conflicts and other emergencies. It is present in every country and supported by millions of volunteers. 

UNICEF is a leading humanitarian and development agency working globally for the rights of every child. Child rights begin with safe shelter, nutrition, protection from disaster and conflict and traverse the life cycle: pre-natal care for healthy births, clean water and sanitation, health care and education. UNICEF has spent nearly 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Find out more about UNICEF's response to the Syrian crisis here. 

In some 70 countries around the world, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) saves lives by providing medical aid where it is needed most—in armed conflicts, epidemics, natural disasters, and other crisis situations. Many contexts call for a rapid response employing specialized medical and logistical help, but they also run longer-term projects designed to tackle health crises and support people who cannot otherwise access health care. ​
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