Sudan in early 2019 was a frightening place to live. War, demonstrations and uprising were threatening the lives of its citizens. People were being massacred in the streets and if you did not support the Government your life was in danger.
Eltyeb Elmukashfi was living in Sudan. He was the Son of a respected religious leader in the community. Eltyeb had a family. He had a house. He had a job.
He had a great education. He achieved a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and later a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. However, at his company he was unable to move up because he did not support The Regime. This made it difficult for him to provide for his pregnant wife and 3 small children.
Eltyeb was forced to make a difficult decision: stay in Sudan living in fear under a dictatorship regime or escape the country in hopes of a better life for his family. Eltyeb chose to leave everything behind and build a better life for his family.
He found himself alone in Montreal on May 1st, 2019 with $392 in his pocket. Five days earlier he had arrived in New York City but knew things would be more difficult in the USA due to their immigration policies at that time. His experience in Montreal was challenging too. The language barrier was tough. He spoke some English, but no French, and planned to make his way to Toronto.
Once in Toronto he found himself at Good Shepherd Ministries.
“Imagine you came to a place and you don’t have a place to sleep, and you don’t have food to eat, and then you find a place, you find people who respect you, and take care of you.” he said of his arrival at Good Shepherd.
As soon as he was able to, Eltyeb began working and sending every dollar that he made back home to his wife and children. “No one’s going to help them.” he said. “They have no food, no gas, no electricity, and there’s war and uprising”.
Eltyeb worried greatly for his family. He worked at a local convenience store in Toronto doing overnight shifts. Twice during the 11 months he worked there he was held up and robbed on shift, once at knife point and the other time the robber had a concealed gun. After the 2nd robbery he had no choice but to quit. He worked other jobs too, whatever he could do to provide support.
After getting his refugee status in Canada he worked towards getting his Permanent Resident Status. As soon as he had the proper documentation he would send for his wife and children to join him.
In Nov 2021 Eltyeb’s family arrived in Toronto and he met them at the airport.
“It was very emotional, we were crying, my 3 children were jumping all over me, and there’s my new baby, now 2 years old, that I had never met.”
Now that Eltyeb’s family had arrived he needed to find them a place to stay. It was November, it was cold, especially when coming from Sudan. Eltyeb had prepared ahead of time and bought winter clothes for his whole family before they arrived.
He was able to secure them a family shelter in Peele Region where they could stay together while looking for a place.
Then on March 1, 2022 Eltyeb and his family were able to secure a 1 bedroom apartment in Scarborough. Though small, it’s a first step. His children were registered for school in their new community and he and his wife started talking ESL (English as a Second Language) classes together. Eltyeb’s English is already very good, but he plans to work in accounting soon and wants to be more confident. Lastly, his main goal is to ensure that his children get the best education they can. So they can have great opportunities and great futures.