Canadian Children Welcome Syrian Refugees To School With A+ Project

"This is for refugees' safety and assuring they have things they need."

This group of kids just gave us all a lesson in generosity.

Children from the Islamic Cultural Center of Toronto teamed up with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board Foundation to provide backpacks and other school supplies to incoming Syrian refugee students. The center's kids stuffed 500 backpacks for the students last week, prepping them for school in a new environment.

"This is for refugees' safety and assuring they have things they need," 10-year-old Noor El Ghobary, who participated in the project, told The Hamilton Spectator.

Julie Densham, foundation development officer for the HWDSB Foundation told The Huffington Post that the ICCT kids -- some whom are from Syria or come from Syrian families themselves -- raised a total of $7,000 by doing chores and small fundraisers in their communities. They then went shopping for school supplies, purchasing items like stationary, binders, calculators, notebooks and lunch boxes, according to a press release. The HWDSB Foundation, which aims to help students in need, used donations as well as funds designated to support kids in need to purchase the backpacks.

The kids gathered in a school cafeteria to prepare the backpacks for elementary, middle school and high school students. And while the kids filled the backpacks with school basics, they also added some fun items like Canadian flags and pins, and coloring books by local artists.

Maggie Amin of the ICCT said in a statement that while the project was a big undertaking, practicing generosity is key to the group and their values.

“This massive project was intended to instill into the children the art of giving and benefiting others, called ‘Sadaqa’ in the Islamic tradition,” she said.

Ultimately, Densham told HuffPost, the backpacks are a way to make the incoming refugees feel at home.

"The backpack is filled with school supplies and is essential but it's also our gift to them to say, 'Welcome to Hamilton, welcome to your new school, we are here for you along the way,'" she said.

The project is one of the many efforts to welcome and support Syrian refugees into Canada. Last month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself greeted refugees arriving to the country at the airport.

Also on HuffPost:

Syrian Refugees Welcomed To U.S.

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