Parent Testimonials
Irene is the mother of 2 sons, one of whom has autism. This is her second year bringing her 2 sons to the Footsteps to Success summer camp at Fr. Henry Carr, as well as her 9 year old nephew. The three boys were engaged with the camp and its different activities. Despite the hardships that the boys may have faced throughout the summer, they have been able to overcome their fears, make new friends, and build strong relationships with other counsellors and coordinators.
"I just wanted to give some feedback about the Footsteps for Success 2018 Summer Camp. My two sons and my nephew attended footsteps this summer. They looked forward to going to camp each day. They thoroughly enjoyed the different activities they participated in. They also enjoyed going swimming and on trips as well. The camp counselors were so friendly, each greeting you with a smile and you can tell they were happy to be there. One of my sons is autistic, and they would always look out for him especially when they went on trips and support him. As a parent I really appreciate all their efforts. I am happy my sons and nephew got to be in a positive, motivating and caring environment where they interacted with their peers and learned new skills. I also enjoyed attending their barbeque where I also got the opportunity to interact with the coordinators and camp counselors as well. The staff was simply amazing. I will recommend footsteps to other parents for sure. Thanks"
Irene Ojofeitimi, 2018
Bahram is the father of a 12 year old boy named Arya, who was born in Canada but lived in Iran for 11 years. Their family moved back to Canada in June 2016. Knowing little to no English, Arya was reluctant to come to camp because of the language barrier. Over the 6 weeks at camp, however, Arya taught other campers different sports skills and he learned to communicate by action. Most importantly, he built a strong relationship with Karam, a Focus on Youth counsellor from Syria, and the two became inseparable. We interviewed Bahram at Father Henry Carr about his first year with the Footsteps camp, and Arya’s changes over the whole camp experience.
“How were your feelings, you and Arya, the first day coming to the camp?
I had a good feeling coming to camp on the first day because I knew Arya would be
going through a lot of changes. He would learn some culture, and his behaviour would
be a lot different. Arya didn’t want to come. He was scared and nervous because he
can’t speak English. I got a call from Jaime, one of the coordinators, at she
encouraged me to come. I said, “He cannot speak English,” and she told me it was
fine. I brought him to camp, and I told him to try it out to see if he likes it. On the first
day he was shy and hid behind me all the time. I felt like it would be a good place for
him to start, so I talked to him that night and brought him the next day. After that, he
loved it.
What changes have you seen throughout the whole camp experience for Arya?
How have you seen him change? Develop?
It’s a different culture for him. His reaction to other kids was different for him growing
up in Iran compared to here in Canada. I told him that he had to learn teamwork and
how to work with groups, and he cannot transfer what he knew in Iran to Canada. I
also saw him learn some words. He’s more open to using them and he’s not shy. He
has the courage to speak even small sentences. I see a lot of good improvement on him.
Now that Arya has been through the camp experience, what are his feelings that he’s shared with you about the camp?
Even sometime on the weekend he asks me, “are you sure the camp isn’t open today?” He likes it. He enjoys it here so much and I can see it on him. Otherwise, I couldn’t push him to do anything unless he wants it. I know he wants to come and he enjoys it. He doesn’t even want to go home on the weekend; he wants to stay at camp.
How has Arya expressed his relationship with Karam, because we know they became really close.
He always talks about Karam. He’s a great guy, and Arya tells me he’s been very patient with him. He explains some similar words that they use in conversation. He’s also has a similar culture to Arya. I think that’s why Arya can rely on him and get along with him. For sure in Canada the culture is different, so Karam, with a similar culture and similar language, giving Arya attention was good. He was happy with Karam.”
"I just wanted to give some feedback about the Footsteps for Success 2018 Summer Camp. My two sons and my nephew attended footsteps this summer. They looked forward to going to camp each day. They thoroughly enjoyed the different activities they participated in. They also enjoyed going swimming and on trips as well. The camp counselors were so friendly, each greeting you with a smile and you can tell they were happy to be there. One of my sons is autistic, and they would always look out for him especially when they went on trips and support him. As a parent I really appreciate all their efforts. I am happy my sons and nephew got to be in a positive, motivating and caring environment where they interacted with their peers and learned new skills. I also enjoyed attending their barbeque where I also got the opportunity to interact with the coordinators and camp counselors as well. The staff was simply amazing. I will recommend footsteps to other parents for sure. Thanks"
Irene Ojofeitimi, 2018
Bahram is the father of a 12 year old boy named Arya, who was born in Canada but lived in Iran for 11 years. Their family moved back to Canada in June 2016. Knowing little to no English, Arya was reluctant to come to camp because of the language barrier. Over the 6 weeks at camp, however, Arya taught other campers different sports skills and he learned to communicate by action. Most importantly, he built a strong relationship with Karam, a Focus on Youth counsellor from Syria, and the two became inseparable. We interviewed Bahram at Father Henry Carr about his first year with the Footsteps camp, and Arya’s changes over the whole camp experience.
“How were your feelings, you and Arya, the first day coming to the camp?
I had a good feeling coming to camp on the first day because I knew Arya would be
going through a lot of changes. He would learn some culture, and his behaviour would
be a lot different. Arya didn’t want to come. He was scared and nervous because he
can’t speak English. I got a call from Jaime, one of the coordinators, at she
encouraged me to come. I said, “He cannot speak English,” and she told me it was
fine. I brought him to camp, and I told him to try it out to see if he likes it. On the first
day he was shy and hid behind me all the time. I felt like it would be a good place for
him to start, so I talked to him that night and brought him the next day. After that, he
loved it.
What changes have you seen throughout the whole camp experience for Arya?
How have you seen him change? Develop?
It’s a different culture for him. His reaction to other kids was different for him growing
up in Iran compared to here in Canada. I told him that he had to learn teamwork and
how to work with groups, and he cannot transfer what he knew in Iran to Canada. I
also saw him learn some words. He’s more open to using them and he’s not shy. He
has the courage to speak even small sentences. I see a lot of good improvement on him.
Now that Arya has been through the camp experience, what are his feelings that he’s shared with you about the camp?
Even sometime on the weekend he asks me, “are you sure the camp isn’t open today?” He likes it. He enjoys it here so much and I can see it on him. Otherwise, I couldn’t push him to do anything unless he wants it. I know he wants to come and he enjoys it. He doesn’t even want to go home on the weekend; he wants to stay at camp.
How has Arya expressed his relationship with Karam, because we know they became really close.
He always talks about Karam. He’s a great guy, and Arya tells me he’s been very patient with him. He explains some similar words that they use in conversation. He’s also has a similar culture to Arya. I think that’s why Arya can rely on him and get along with him. For sure in Canada the culture is different, so Karam, with a similar culture and similar language, giving Arya attention was good. He was happy with Karam.”
Sevan Nerses is the mother of one of the Syrian refugees who attended the Footsteps to Success program at St. Timothy’s in the summer of 2016. Her daughter, Shayla, grew over the summer. She was a young girl highly impacted by the environment of war torn Syria and this camp gave her a chance to grow. Sevan was highly active in camp life, visiting and dropping off Shayla daily as well as enrolling Shayla in the Syrian Focus group to help her develop her skills.
"My daughter loves Footsteps to Success, it makes her really happy and it makes me so happy. She is excited to come every day to camp and play the activities which are so good! The staff are so welcoming and treat her so well, they have helped her grow. She never wants to miss a day of camp; it has helped her with her move from Syria. This camp is perfect. Thank you Footsteps to Success!"