Hi, my name is Henriette originating from Cameroon, a country in central Africa. I am a married mother of four children and a teacher by profession. I arrived in Canada in July 2024. I am safe now and have a home at Carty House, but it was not always that way.
When I first arrived in Canada, I had to learn, very quickly, how to find a bed each night. At one of the nearby shelters, since there were no beds, I was offered a cot, each night at 10pm. But if you are on a cot, you have to be up at 5:30am and leave the building at 6am, since the shelter was only for sleeping. Then, you have to figure out where to go for the day. You don’t have any family; It was a painful period. I would spend the entire day at the Rideau Centre, not being able to shower, and then having to get back to the shelter. After a month on the cot, I was finally assigned a bed. And yet, I will always remember, even though that experience felt inhumane at times, that this shelter was the first place that welcomed me. And it was this shelter that enabled me to find Carty House. I will always be grateful.
Being a refugee, especially being a female refugee, comes with many challenges. Female refugees are often invisible. There is no one to tell you what it means to be a refugee woman, alone in a new country, or what your rights and privileges are. You live in total ignorance and fear.
Before arriving at Carty House, I had a lot of self-doubt. But thanks to Carty House, I’ve regained my self-confidence and the courage to continue the path I began as a refugee woman. I’m being supported through all the plans for my future. It is thanks to Carty House that I have come back to life. All my needs, that are within their power, are provided. I’m taken care of physically, psychologically, in short, the whole package. Carty House has given me back the strength to continue the path to a safe life and the chance to start again.
I have now experienced that providing a shelter to refugees is a humanitarian act. It’s very humane and compassionate to give shelter to someone you don’t know. Thank you Carty House, thank you Ottawa, thank you Canada.
(This article originally appeared in IMAGE Sandy Hill Newspaper, Spring 2025, page 15)