I'm Maryam from Syria.
- I'm Mohammad. - My name is Kasem
I have six children, five daughters and one boy.
I love my family. Very nice, very good.
In Canada, we have this very strange thing where we can privately sponsor a family.
So we can actually do something.
So I just felt it was time to step up.
I think what we saw was,
you know, just a massive humanitarian catastrophe
and then the photo came out,
the photo of the little boy on the beach,
and that was enough.
That broke my heart.
As a mother and a human how can you just let people die.
It was everywhere and it still makes me cry to think about it,
because you just... He was just so symbolic of what was happening.
You just can't just sit still after seeing that.
So the responsibility of a private sponsorship group...
is a 12 month responsibility.
We had somebody in charge of housing,
we had somebody in charge of education, health, etc.
We divided into groups, so I had groups that were looking at accommodation,
groups looking at healthcare,
you need to get a social insurance number,
you need to have somewhere to sleep, you need food, you need clothes,
I mean it's just... the list is endless.
The goal is to make sure they are safe, comfortable,
they have access to all the resources they need, they're in school.
And you have that year in which to do that.
- Hello. - Hi.
- How are you? - Fine thank you.
And it's been amazing and humbling for us as a sponsor group...
I like your haircut. They call this a high and tight!
...to able to deal with such beautiful human beings.
You excited? You're going tomorrow.
We have been looking for some opportunities for the kids to do some things in the summer.
And then somehow somebody sent an email saying that
there was a camp that was looking for Syrian boys to attend one of their sessions
so we latched onto that one rather quickly.
I don't know which one is smaller and which one is bigger
but they're just...try them, you can try them.
- Thank you very much. - And if they work, there you go.
I want to go to camp to learn experience and to make a new friend
and learn how to live alone.
Yes. This is what I am taking to camp.
It's a really, really big sort of Canadian rite of passage,
it's an incredible opportunity to make lifelong friends.
I think being an all boys camp especially for Mohammed Nour cause he's surrounded by
so many girls I think it's going to be just a great opportunity for him.
I have this. It's from Jennifer.
She gave it to me in my birthday.
I love that. I'm happy to go and I am excited.
Hi boys, how are you doing? Ready to play baseball? Yeah?
Just put that bag here.
Yeah, keep your backpack with you.
Hello!
- Wassup? - How's it going?
You're going to camp! Yeah, you're going to camp! Come on, smile!
Beautiful.
He said, "“May God be with you."”
Nice to meet you!
- Alright guys - Alright
- Do you have any like toothbrush and stuff? - Yes
That can go on here.
And clothes can go under the bed. Oh that's a nice blanket. Put this over here.
Food, like if you're gonna open one of these,
I'd recommend don't save it,
- cause there might be chipmunks and stuff. - Yes.
Alright, I'll give you the tour. Come on let's go.
So this row right here, this is called Cree Row.
This is all like around your age.
This, this is the canoe dock.
- Have you ever been canoeing before? - No.
It's pretty easy once you like get in the boat. It's fun.
So these are the bathrooms. They call them the forts.
These are, I don't know, different.
So everyone goes right next to each other.
It's a little bit weird in the beginning.
One, one.
Alright then for you sir. For you sir.
Alright now, we're sleeping bagged up, right? Okay next one.
Okay, headlamp.
Three different brightnesses. Headlamp. Headlamp.
Alright guys, get a good night's sleep, I'll see you in the morning.
- Thanks so much. - Welcome.
Goodnight.
So this is our hundred and fourth season
and I've been coming here over 36 years.
I grew up in Rochester, New York.
For me coming here as 11 year old for the first time
there was whole sort of pageant of delights and terrors,
like there are for all the campers.
We're sitting on a little island, 17 acres,
in the middle of 3,000 square miles of nothing modern.
And you can feel that pulsing to you every second.
Wind through the pines,
the loons and wolves calling through the night.
That really is what's going on here,
and when kids open themselves up to that,
and when they really live with each other face-to-face,
instead of text-to-text, amazing things happen.
And now new Canadians are making up a larger proportion of people in Ontario and Quebec.
And we're Americans living and operating up here,
honestly, with a political environment back home
that makes us deeply uncomfortable, to say the least, right?
And, you know, without going down that road too far,
it just became evident that the way in which Canada was trying
to help and embrace people caught up in this terrible conflict
made us want to emulate that gesture in our tiny way.
You know, and we decided to give it a shot.
Omer...
For all of you that are new to camp,
we raise the flags in the morning super fast but we bring them down super chill at night.
Alright campers, attention! Flag salute.
ó— [whistling] ó
Hey!
Swim test. This is not pass or fail it's just so I can see what your swimming ability is.
Alright 3, 2, 1, go.
- Can I just get in the water? - No, dude, you can't just get in the water.
Keep going, it's okay.
Good work, Omer.
Nice, cool! Alright.
Who else hasn't gone?
Yeah, you can go.
You're good, just take a sec to get used to it.
And Mohammed go dry off and go to dry trip training.
You're doing great Mohammed. You're okay, you're okay.
Swim to me. Swim to me.
You're fine. You're okay.
Swim, swim, okay. Your fine, breath.
Swim to me, swim to me.
Kick your legs. Kick, kick, kick.
Fast, fast, fast. Good job. Good job.
Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
Give me your hand.
You okay? Did you swallow a little bit of water?
That happens. You did awesome though. You swam all the way to me on your own.
You did awesome.
Boys, come on down. Next group.
Do you guys see the groups? I got Mohammed, Omer, and Mohammed,
and then I've got Hameed, Kassam on this trip.
Both trips are gonna be the same length.
- How many days? - Six.
Okay.
- Excuse me, am I with cousin? - I think so, yeah.
- Thank you. - So that makes you happy?
Yeah, yeah, happy.
- That's what I'm here to do. - Everybody happy!
Everybody's happy! Why can't everyone be like the Syrian kids?
Alright guys, this morning show you guys what tripping is all about.
We're gonna do all this dry land trip training which means like packing rolls,
packing axe pack, setting up tents,
all the kind of stuff you need to do on the campsite.
This is the axe which is... yeah, only staff men touch these.
This is how we chop wood for our fires on the campsite so we can cook our meals.
- What's that? - How heavy is the axe?
You can hold it actually if you want to, it's not that heavy.
Let me see.
- That's where the blade is. - It is tiny.
Whoo wooo whoo, okay okay, whoo whoo. Thought he was going to injure himself, man.
Someone I think gave him this knife,
and this morning me and his brother Hameed and the kids were surprised him
holding a knife and whittling with it and horse playing with it.
I told him about 10 times to put it back in his tent, and every time he tells me,
"Yeah I'm going, I'm going. I'm going to put it, I'm going to put it."
So he doesn't put it so there's respect of authority.
He's a troublemaking guy, and he gets upset, emotional, sensitive very quickly.
And being a sharp tool with him... it's not a toy. It's horseplay a lot so he's moving a lot.
- You want a knife? - Yeah.
Keep asking around. I don't know who else would have a knife for you.
Someone else might have a knife, okay? See you around.
So right now we are going to start practicing our paddle strokes.
Nice job, that's called a feather.
Nice job.
- Where are you guys from? - Syria.
Syria.
- Syria. - Syria.
S - alekum. Hello in Arabic, that's what it means.
Omer taught me Arabic.
Do you guys want to go sailing with us?
Because it is freetime on the water after dinner.
And like you can go canoeing, sailing.
So we were wondering if you wanted to come sailing with us.
Okay.
Mohammed Darewish and Brad Zimmerman come do the flags for me.
Thank you boys.
- [whistling] -
Hey!
This is our trip. We're going out for six days.
We got an awesome group, guys. I'm really excited
and we got a really cool route planned out.
I know some really nice campsites we can stay at along the way.
We'll be having a good time.
It's only us six?
Yeah you six and us three.
Nine people.
I like cooking so I'll try to make some good food for you guys on the fire.
Thank you brother.
If you have any questions I'll be in tent six tonight.
You can come to me anytime.
Otherwise you are free to go.
Thanks guys.
My name is Alex, my friends call me Mango, and I'm from Marcam.
My name's Alex and I'm from Manhattan, New York.
My name is Aidan and I'm from Rochester.
This is my second year and I love going on trip.
This is my seventh year,
and I really like coming out here cause we are all friends and everyone gets along together.
This is my third year.
I like going on trips because it really strengthens the bond between your friends.
Spending six days with the same nine people, you really get to know them
and I think it's really great.
Hey boys, boys!
Can we get - Mohamed can you come up just a little forward? There we go. Perfect.
Look like you like each other. Alright smiling, Omer, come on, smile.
Okay get out of here, have fun.
Hat, Aiden?
- Thank you. - There you go.
Okay, trippers!
- [cheering] -
Alright. Switch.
Ready... switch.
Hold up guys.
- [inaudible] -
Oh, awesome.
This is an awesome campsite. There's a lot of space up here.
For me, as an 11 year old, for the first time
I thought tripping was tremendous chore
and wasn't sure why it needed to be a big program here.
And I think that for young kids it's getting harder and harder to be uncomfortable,
and be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
- 1, 2, 3. - I am going to make fire.
Not right now. Right now we unpack the packs, okay?
They're used to having a juice box or cracker whenever they want
and those comforts disappear because there's got to be a regiment
for the group to make it on the supplies they got.
Never throw the food, always take it out and place it on the tarp.
And then there's this work ethic that is imposed on them,
that they are not used to at all.
They have to submit to this kind of hundred year old regiment.
I can't wait to see them paddle in when they get back from the trip.
I'm looking for, you know, a little swagger
when they come back. They'll have earned it.
Mango you wanna help them?
Put this up first.
No, not yet.
Also we always swim in boots. But listen to me okay?
Listen to me, listen to me okay?
Campsite shoes are personal things and the tent is for everyone.
We do the things for everyone first and then we do personal stuff.
- That make sense? - Yeah.
Okay. It's okay for today. Let's get that tent up.
This is my eighth summer.
This seems like pretty much the best job that I could get for the summer.
I really love being outside and being with the kids,
and all the stuff we do here on canoe trips.
And it's hard to see myself doing something else for the summer.
Exactly, the smoke is good for keeping the bugs away.
So I have a rule, Omer?
If it is on fire, it stays in the fire.
So if you're gonna put something in there and it catches on fire,
then you have to drop it and leave it in there.
Okay? Because I don't want you to light something and take it away,
then and then you're waving a flaming stick around the campsite.
- Huh? - What is this?
The vegetables? Those are for dinner. Do you guys want to cut them?
Yeah, I cut good.
Oh perfect that looks awesome.
Hey, no eating.
For dinner tonight we're having some type of mashed potatoes with vegetables.
I call this deconstructed shepherd's pie.
Here you go. How does it taste guys?
- Bad. - Oh yeah okay.
Say it tastes really good.
Tastes good.
Yeah thanks.
You don't want more? Are you kidding me?
No I'm very good good good good.
I don't believe you.
You have to eat more. All you had since breakfast this morning was an apple.
Yeah, yeah I want apple.
No we have to save the apples for another day.
Save this one.
Omer, you're making trouble.
Troublemaker.
Omer come back over here no more fire until you eat okay?
- Why? - Eating is important on trip.
We're using a lot of energy tomorrow and you need to have energy.
Everyone has to eat.
I'm sorry.
I hate forcing people to eat but you need the energy.
Where is number two?
Number two?
I'll show you where the treasure box is, that's where we do number two.
Yeah.
So I want you three guys to show these guys how you wallop like bigger items like those.
- You like it here? - In camp? Yeah it's pretty fun
- Are you coming next year? - Maybe. I might go to China and visit family.
- Okay. You like your family? - Yeah.
- You like your country? - Mm.
- Good. - Careful.
Today is my first day at camp.
When we were here I was scared a bit,
but after I make friends and I play with them,
I didn't scare anymore. And that's over.
We start of with a 2180 meter portage. Which is right over there.
Pretty flat. Pretty easy.
Go up, one foot out. Awesome. That was perfect, perfect.
- We can't stand! - I'll help you out!
Ready?
One, two three!
- You got it? - Yeah!
Awesome. Let's get started.
- How do you feel Mohammed? - Yeah, yeah. Good.
Good? Awesome.
- Good? Thanks, Omer. - Yeah.
You want to take a break? We can take a break later.
We have a lot more to go.
- We've been like 200, 250 meters. - What?
We have to go 2 kilometers.
I can't go faster.
You can go faster. We have to go like 8 times what we just did. Or 7 more.
Let's keep going, guys.
Oof. It's a big pack. It's like as big as you.
Okay.
Let me see.
I think we might be able to do it.
Oops.
Your feet are gonna get a little wet but we can do it, guys.
You guys ok?
I'm great.
Uh, water water, no!
Yeah, right up the hill.
Ooh, it's a little muddy.
- Oops! - Shit.
Okay, hold on one second.
Give me your hand.
- Are you okay? - Yeah.
- Just slipped a little bit? - Mhm.
You'll be alright.
Hey Omer! Don't laugh. Come on, dude.
He's not- Omer! Leave him alone. Okay, please?
You're doing really good, Mohammed. Beautiful portage.
That's the lake! We made it! That wasn't too bad, right? Right?
- Woops. - Hi, guys.
Just a couple of more steps, I promise. And I'll get the pack.
Walk down here.
Good job, you're done.
'Cause they didn't make one. There is just no campsite here.
Alright guys! We still got three more portages so let's get in the boats!
Get movin' okay?
I love it.
Look down guys and you'll be able to see the bottom
until we're really far out 'cause the water is super clear.
Tripping's an acquired taste. It was for me and it is for everybody else.
And when you've mastered it,
you've put a pack on your back and made it across the portage,
no matter how dreadful the moments were along the way,
there's a sense that not only can we do this and it's okay,
but Oh my gosh, it's awesome.
Then they can make their own universe of fun.
You promise me you're gonna be careful, right?
Why did he say not to use a knife?
Because it's bad.
- It's bad? - Sometimes bad, sometimes it's nice.
It's nice for fires, nice for cutting food.
But that's pretty much it on trip.
- Throw it is bad! - Throw it is very bad.
- Kill is bad. - Very bad.
We use knives for good things on trip. For wood, for food, that's it.
For hit! I'm joking.
You watch it, buddy.
Mohamed Darewish, do you want to get pulled up?
No, no, what the hell?! Don't do that, Omer.
- Do you guys want some food? - Yeah.
- There's some soup. - Time to eat.
Like a ninja.
Let's go get some food, guys.
Yeah, be careful not to burn your tongue guys.
It's very hot.
Yeah you are.
Everybody's favorite.
Hey guys, look.
Look over there.
- Seven ducks. - Lots of ducks.
"Ducks."
- Ducks. - What's this?
- We should go to fill up some water bottles. - Yeah, I'll go.
You wanna go? Okay.
Do you want someone to go with you? Or maybe... I don't know.
Just a little bit. Out to the middle and then back, okay?
Smell good?
- How is it? - Good.
Good. Now, we just need the big bucket.
Too bad Omer isn't back yet.
Omer!
I can't believe it. Ugh.
I feel stupid. I should have been watching them.
I just thought that he was gonna paddle out, fill it up and come back.
What'd you do, dude?!
- [inaudible] -
You went where?
You went to take water?
Yeah, why'd you go so far?
You have to?
You took the, you mean? He took the water from right here,
and then Mohammed paddled out or Omer paddled out?
Omer, why'd you do that?
You want to? What? Didn't I tell you to stay close?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
It's not funny, dude, I was scared.
- Why scared? - Why? Why am I scared?
Because I can't see you. I don't know where you are.
Maybe you went down that way, maybe you flipped over, maybe you're wet, I don't know.
Omer, no, Omer it's not funny, dude.
I was worried about you. Why are you laughing, dude?
Look at me. No, no, sit down, Omer.
You don't- Omer, Omer, Omer, I don't think you understand.
When I tell you to go up and fill up the water bottles and come back-
look at me, Omer-that means go and fill up the water bottles and then come back. Okay?
- Yeah. - Okay?
- Are you gonna listen to me now? - Yeah.
Okay. Let's get out and then you can hug me.
Omer...
Thank you.
Now you want a hug Omer?
I am glad you are safe. Don't do that to me again.
You guys want brownies?
Everyone wants brownies.
Everybody's hungry for brownies.
- How are they, guys? - Good!
- Bad. - Bad?
So good!
What did you guys think of the trip?
Lot of fun? Yeah, pretty great.
What was your favorite day?
- Yesterday. - Yesterday?
Today was pretty fun.
Mohammed, what was your favorite day?
Yesterday.
- Why? - Because it's sunny.
- [singing] A-B-C-D... - [laughing] -
Omer, when I give you brownies, you are a lot less trouble and a lot more fun, you know that?
This is awesome, right? You should act like this all the time.
You should be like this all the time. And not make trouble for me.
Ahhhahah
Oh, you got me.
What the fuck what's this?
Omer! Stop, stop it. Omer! Stop swearing dude,
I tell you that so many times every day.
Tell me about your friends at home, Omer. What are your friends like at home?
- Do you have a best friend? - Yeah.
- What's their name? - Mohammed.
- Where is he? - He's in Iraq.
- In Iraq. - Yeah.
- Does he want to come to Canada? - Maybe, maybe.
In Canada nobody kill nobody, nobody touch nobody. Everybody nice.
- Is Canada really different from Iraq? - Yeah.
- Yeah? Like what? - Fighting.
Like lots of fighting in Iraq and Canada no fighting?
In Turkish, in Turkish. Lot of fighting. I saw it in Turkish.
In Turkey. Wow.
Very, very- a lot of fighting, I saw that.
Did you feel like in danger?
Like what?
Like you thought people were gonna hurt you when you were there?
I have a very big group.
You have a very big group. Is that why you have a big group? To be safe?
Yeah.
- It's a different world here in Canada. - Yeah,
- it's nice, Canada. - Yeah.
- What are you doing? - I'm making breakfast.
Pancakes.
I know it is going to be so good.
Who's the current Syrian President?
- Assad. - Bashar Al Assad right?
I have no idea.
Did you just ask yourself a trivia question that you don't know the answer to?
That's pretty cool right?
You know if loons land on too small a lake...
Because they need so much space to take off,
if they land on a really small lake then they get stuck there.
Okay last question what is the capital of Iraq?
Baghdad.
Is everybody ready to go?
Just four portages and then we quickly lift over landlock.
Omer, please stay in the boat.
And then once we're over landlock we're really on-source,
and we can paddle back to camp Pathfinder.
Like what did you guys think of the trip with the refugees?
So Mohammed Zin, he was like a really really really really really nice kid.
He was always kind and helpful.
And Mohammed Darwish, he is also a really nice kid
and he always wanted other people to feel happy and have a nice time.
Do you want me to talk- ? Okay. And then...
- You can talk about Omer. - Is it okay if I am honest?
Be honest, you don't have to swear or anything.
Okay, okay, okay.
Omer, he was little bit of a jerk most of the time.
And he would make like stupid comments and stuff.
The other two guys are like nice.
But Omer is just really hard to deal with.
Walk me through the story of what happened when there was like a little bit of a fight.
He came up to Alex and he like put his hands in fists,
and kind of coughed to get our attention to see that his hands were in fists.
And then Omer started hitting his hat off at Alex,
and started teasing him a little bit and saying like, "Oh we're so scared,
you're gonna hurt us so bad," and then he kinda slapped me, and then and then Alex...
- He didn't just kinda slap you right? - He slapped me,
and then Alex went and got kinda mad and pushed him,
and then Omer pushed back and then he punched him.
Yeah, I remember.
I'm not gonna lie, when I punched him it felt so good.
Did you guys ever think about how his background
affected so much of the way that he acted on trip?
Yeah, I was wondering like what sort of messed up stuff happened to him.
My personal idea...
is that he's just used to being surrounded by more danger.
Do you guys think that- like does that make sense?
Yeah.
When I got back to camp, I was actually kinda paranoid
about Omer cause he looked like he was completely unstable.
During the day he looked like he was about to stab me or something.
So I'm gonna be honest, I slept with my knife under my pillow that night.
He was really like violent and he was like threatening to stab people and things like that.
Were you scared of him?
- Slightly, yeah. - A little bit?
Just because you felt like he was unpredictable?
Yeah. Like really unpredictable.
No no no.
No I don' t want to hold your hands.
Omer, Omer, Omer, Omer. Omer.
Omer, we made a deal. Omer, Omer. We made a deal.
Okay man? Please. Omer, Omer. It's okay, man.
He is only the third boy in my 18 years here,
that we've ever sent home out of 250 a year.
He wasn't only being impulsive and he wasn't only being defiant.
It was now becoming violent and seeking out confrontations.
So in a remote place like this with this young population
that's kind of the break point on making a decision.
So we're good to go, you ready?
Omer particularly is one of the more challenging campers I've had.
He also comes from a totally different background from any other
camper that I ever had.
And when he was in Turkey he talked about how
there would be literal gang fights and he would have to walk around in a group
with his brothers and with these other guys
because they would get beaten up and people would try to start fights with them
just because they were Arabs.
And so within the context of that
I can totally understand why he might try to start
a fight with another camper or just be negative
and feel like he has to project this larger than life personality
because secretly he is a little bit insecure and feels like
what he has to do in order to keep himself safe.
Those walls that he was putting up were
what was holding him back from really connecting from the rest of the Trip.
Well Wyatt's going to be with you.
And Emily is going to be with you.
But send me emails. Yeah let's talk.
- Okay? - Sure.
Okay, be well.
Alright, man ready to head out? Alrighty.
We just said that camp is always here
but maybe right now is not the right time.
It's not even clear that he really grasps
what kind of impact his behavior has on the community around him.
Alright you don't want to do the last two days of the camp?
You're doing really well. You're one of my best campers.
But I can't lose one of my best guys.
Alright well that's up to your mother, so I will contact her.
And we'll see what she says.
I'll contact your mother today.
And I'll see what she says.
Okay.
Is it hard to be here without Omer being here?
Or are you just thinking about that your whole family is at home?
Yeah, I think.
You know it can be so powerful to finish with everybody with all the friends
together these last two days, you know?
Who are your good friends here?
Andrew Begg?
Yeah.
Will you introduce me to him at lunch? Show me who he is.
I just want to know who you like a lot.
He's a good man.
That's cool. Well listen, I'll call your mom
and I'll ask her to tell me what she thinks.
Okay?
I'll call her today, absolutely. Okay?
I'll tell her that you said that.
I'll tell her.
We knew the whole separation thing would be tough for them
because keeping the family together has been the whole
prime directive since childhood.
So a little bit of tired,
did someone say something to him last night? Something changed.
So where's your activity right now, swimming?
No? Okay. Frisbee golf?
I don't know.
Yeah, you could do it right?
Can I play in canoe now?
- You want to go back to canoeing? - Yeah.
If you go will you canoe?
Yeah.
- Yes you will? - Yeah.
Alright so I think all you gotta do to pass him on level one
is go out and show the few basic strokes again
- and then have him a landing. - Sure.
- Now I am what level? - You'll get level one.
- Level one is good? - Yeah.
That's good, especially for a first year.
- Very good? - Yeah.
Level one is awesome.
So now what the next stroke we're gonna do is we're gonna do the J-stroke.
So take your stroke, just a regular forward, forward.
There we go. And then turn it that way, just like that, yes!
So the draw is where you
- pull the water towards you. - Yeah yeah yeah, like this.
Yeah, oh nice, perfect. Perfect draw.
It's heavy, oh oh!
Alright, nice!
Alright, then we'll get it down. Okay ready?
- Roll. - Like this.
Nice nicely done.
- Not too much bad. - Congratulations you got your level one.
That was awesome.
Okay I stay here.
You'll stay for the day? Yeah,
- are you bummed? - Yeah.
Really why? You don't want to stay for the camp show?
- It's okay, I stay now. - You okay now with it?
- Yeah. - Okay, I'm glad you are staying.
Mohammad! You're mopping the floor for three hours!
You are mopping the floor seven times. It looks good, looks beautiful.
Best tent.
Hey guys I know it is a big afternoon and everything
But I don't wanna let this moment get away.
We had a visitor who paddled out onto the lake.
Who is a parent of one of our brothers.
He is a Canadian lad who was on the Canadian Olympic team in 1984
with his brother Pat and who has gone on to have an extended paddling career.
He happened to bring with him a t-shirt
which was part of his winnings from a recent national marathon championship.
And I think it's very fitting that a guy who spent a lifetime with
a paddle in his hand wanted to say congratulations to a guy
who is holding one for the first year of his life
and so if I could have Tim Turner to come up here with his t-shirt
and if you wouldn't mind presenting it to someone who's won a level one AA
these last few days: Hameed Majeed will you come on up and receive?
- [cheering] -
Here is a t-shirt from the recent national marathon canoe paddling championships
and it's my great pleasure on behalf of myself and my brother
to present that to yourself. And here you are.
Here you go, put it on.
Hey!
And I know this is a young man that is gonna make Canada very, very proud.
That's for sure. All the best.
Hey.
Did he help you get your level one?
Yeah, awesome. Alright, congratulations.
- [singing] - Bravo, bravisimo...
Alright, everybody. Great morning, have a great afternoon!
- Thank you so much. - I'm proud of you, buddy. Proud of you.
Ring it! Ring the bell!
We're taking a still of you and me.
We did it.
You know the staff and I feel chagrined that we couldn't somehow magically
bring in all the Syrian and Iraqi kids through it with flying colors.
Congratulations on the thing earlier today. That's awesome. It was really awesome.
We're into welcoming new Canadians who are coming from other experiences,
other parts of the world and making home here in North America
and Pathfinder's in the inclusion of those new Canadians, we're in that game to stay.
Well we paddled and portaged and the day's done.
We sit by the fire and watch the setting sun.
As we lay down our heads in our soft blossom beds,
we thank the great spirit our blood runs pathfinder red.
Hey!
The things that are good about this experience for boys
are good for boys from Northeast Ohio,
and they're good for boys from California, and they're good for boys from Montreal,
and they're good for boys from Aleppo and Bagdad.
- [singing] - PATHFINDER SONG
Okay, Mohamed, Kassam.
Mohammed let's go. Alright.
Bye. Seeya. Bye. Bye.
Hot shower? What else? Sleep? Eat?
Phone?
Mohammed, open the gate. Jump out.
- Bye, guys. - Bye!
Alright, stay in touch. Send me emails.
Bye.
You like tripping?
Get comfortable.
- Did you guys have a good time? - Yeah.
Salaam Alaikum! [peace be upon you]
- How was camp?! - Good.
- Yeah? You survived? - Yeah.
- Did you learn lots? - Yeah.
- Can you take me canoeing? - Yeah.
Alright!
I think you fed the mosquitoes, look at your legs!
- Yeah, I was the leader of the trip. - The six day trip?
- Yeah. - That's the one.
- So, how is this guy? - He was great, he was so awesome.
- Did me make proud? - Yeah, he carried a pack bigger than him.
The whole trip. He was tripping with some of the older boys
but you wouldn't even know, he was learning so much every day.
He was tripping like a pro.
Super fast and laughing and joking around and smiling.
That's our boy!
It was great. He really liked it.
- That's awesome! - Yeah, yeah.
- Thank you so much again. - You're welcome.
Of course. It was my pleasure to have him.
Mohammed made my life easy.
- Bye! - I'll see you next summer, okay Mohammed?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Tell her now.
Omer.
Hammed, I heard that you won an award for canoeing.
Yeah.
Oh, they gave him a very big shirt. But it's the gesture that counts.
No, it's not? It's a good size?
You liked it?
What is it about canoeing?
So, Omer, what about you? What was the part worst part about camping?
So Omer, if it was so good, I'm curious about why they sent you home early?
I don't know.
Hameed?
You only slept one hour just because you wanted the time to play on the phone?
How did you meet them?
Through the game.
- So you've never seen them in person. - No.
You've only met them online through the game?
This has been a challenge, there's no question,
especially with Omer this year.
I think you need to be able to stick to the plan,
and you know make sure that they're going to be okay once our sponsorship ends,
cause our sponsorship ends in two months.
I think we'll continue to have a relationship you can't just drop people.
Our financial obligation ends.
They're going to end up on welfare
It'll mean tightening the belt. The year with our support,
they've had a little gravy in there and they won't have that going forward.
We've been talking to them about budgeting, about saving.
All of that kind of has kind of...
They know this day is coming but I think it's going to be a wake up call.
Nourdine is an amazing gardener and a farmer and has all sorts of great talents
including setting up a telescope which I didn't know,
but if we can do something with that skill instead of
putting him into a labor job that is not
going to feed his soul then that's what we hope for.
We want them to stay full-time in English
as a second language classes because we all believe
that the better English they speak the better job they'll get.
So many times people will get to a level of proficiency
that they can take like the lowest paying job and once
you're in that job it's really hard to get out of that.
They're my friends and my family and I could never just
wipe my hands and walk away after the allotted amount of time
that I'm supposed to give them. It's more than that, it's their life,
it's like they're my people. I love them.
So, I hope that they will allow me to continue
- oh, getting emotional again - allow me to continue being part of their lives
as they grow up and become Canadians.
I feel happy and sad here because-
I'm happy here because the place is good and the people is very good
and I feel sad because I miss my grandmother and my grandfather
cause I didn't see them for long, maybe three years or more.
I miss them.
We've just completed one year of sponsorship,
so Abdullah got up on the table and he made this amazing, amazing speech.
Okay.
My name is Abdullah. I am 43 years old. I am from Syria.
I was working on construction. Now I live in Toronto with my family.
I remember when I told my wife 'We will migrate to Canada.'
She was crying and she said to me 'Where are you taking us?
To over the sea and oceans? To the harsh cold?'
And the words she said were very painful and sorrowful.
Yet she left everything but she did not leave us.
She had the choice to stay in her country with her family but she didn't leave us.
My beloved wife sacrificed a lot of things.
My wife is worth my love and respect. She is unique.
I love her and I love my children.
After long suffering we finally arrived in Canada.
The people here welcomed us with open arms. We didn't have anything.
They shared what they had and they shared their house,
school, food, clothes and even kids games.
They made us very happy. They made us forget the bad memories,
and the suffering we were carrying in our hearts.
We respect our sponsors so much and they are in our hearts forever.
Finally, I would like to thank my family now:
Jennifer, Sandra, and Bernie.
I still makes me cry.
- Thank you, - Thank you. Thank you Sandra.
This is for me the best treasure in the world.
Thank you Sandra.