What We Do
We Organize Activities And Implement Projects That Benefit Communities And Individuals Around The
World, With Focus On Yemen And Yemeni Communities In Canada And Around The World.
Culture
- We organize events to educate new immigrants from Yemen about Canada.
- We organize public events to show the culture and contribution of Yemenis around the world.
- We organize activities for the benefit for the general population in Canada to encourage friendship and social cooperation.
- We organize events to raise awareness about Yemeni culture and Yemen.
Peace Promotion
- We promote dialogue and peace by encouraging Yemeni people to work together. We organize dialogue events, promote exchange of ideas and opinions as a mean to get people to understand each other, learn to respect differences, and co-exist.
Education (Yemen-Based):
We believe in education as a mean of development and posititive change. We work to improve education in Yemen and provide children with better opportunity to learn.
Max Courage Curriculum: One of our projects is a literacy program to encourage children to read and express themselves. Children are encouraged to write stories describing their own experiences of courage. The stories are published alongside the stories of other children of the world in an annual book that Max Courage Curriculum Inc. publishes. Friends of Yemen have been implementing the program annually since 2019. Below you find some details for each year.
Canadian Activities:
Advocacy Work
Friends of Yemen works to help the Canadian Yemeni community be bringing their issues to the attention of the Canadian Government.This work is affecting the Canadian Yemeni community at large in all Canada.
The Yemeni Refugees Initiative: the objective of this initiative is to advocate for the Canadian Government to open move venues for Yemeni refugees to resettle in Canada, as well as helping those already in Canada to be granted the right to remain in Canada.
Since it started in 2020, the organization have met with numerous Canadian law-makers and politicians to bring the case of Yemeni refugees to their attention. Several petitions were shared. In addition, the board has been active in attending events and participating in activities where this issue is raised. Letters were directly sent to members of the House of Commons and the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada.
This issues are being coordinated with a number of community organizations both in Ottawa and throughout the country.
The Yemeni Immigration Initiative: Related to the Refugee Initiative is this initiative that focuses on bringing the challenges the Yemeni community face in getting their immigration issues resolved within the normal processing times. Hundreds of Yemenis have been waiting for their cases to be processed beyond the normal processing time.
Peace in Yemen: Board members have been active in educating the Canadian lawmakers, the academics, and the general public about the need to support peace in Yemen. Several of the board members attend events and contribute to discussions around Yemen. Some have been invited by the media to talk about Yemen.
We had a program for children, a cultural program showcasing Yemeni music, dance, and fashion. Children participated in the fashion show. We also had trivia where we asked questions about Yemen and Canada, and helped educate the participants.
Yemen National Days
on an annual basis, Friend of Yemen has been organizing events to celebrate Yemen national days. These events are occasions to bring the community together and educate children about the country where they, or their parents come from.
Yemen Coffee Break
This initiative is the ‘Brand Name’ of Friends of Yemen work in educating the public about Yemen, the Canadian Yemeni Society and culture. The organization have participated in numerous occasions representing Yemen and showcasing Yemen art and culture. It has also worked to train people on Art with Yemeni flavour and dance. In addition it is working to bring more attention to Yemeni music through the Yemeni artists.
Eid and other Community Gatherings
Friends of Yemen has been organizing the Eid events since 2020. By inviting community members and encouraging their participation, these events have helped people connect. In addition many “Tea Meetings” are organized where the community comes together.
Arab Reading Club
An initiative to encourage reading and create a momentum to help preserve Arabic culture and encourage more Canadians to write and read in Arabic
Nozha
In initiative: this is a hiking group that started in 2020. It is open to everyone in Ottawa and beyond. This event is an opportunity for exercise, encouraging healthy life styles, but also a way to educate people about nature and Canadian culture. Over the years hundreds of people participate in this initiative.
Community support Program
The objective of this program is to help those in need for support. This may be by providing information or advice, and/or by providing material help.
Advice
Board members have been receiving from community members and providing them with help. A Whatsapp group managed by Friends of Yemen is a forum where people could ask questions and get information and advice. May “newcomers” approach the Board members for advice and an provided with guidance.
Material support
in few cases the organization has mobilized the community to support some members providing them with material support.
This was the first of its kind event where Yemen and the Canadian Yemeni community had the chance to show their art, music, and culture. Many businesses participated in the event showing the Canadian Yemenis contribution in enriching life in Ottawa. Thanks to the support of the City of Ottawa to this activity which started by teaching Yemeni art and dance.
This is the second version of the Yemen Open Day in Ottawa. The event turned out to be a huge success, thanks to the contribution of many in the Yemeni community in Ottawa and sponsorship of Bukhari Restaurant. More than 200 people participated in the event at Vincent Massey Park. The event happened in September 25, 2022 between 1 and 5 pm.
The first time the Yemen community gather to contribute to showing the Yemeni culture. This was an event at Vincent Massey Park in Ottawa.
We had a program for children, a cultural program showcasing Yemeni music, dance, and fashion. Children participated in the fashion show. We also had trivia where we asked questions about Yemen and Canada, and helped educate the participants.
Our first contribution is the participation in the “World Multicultural Festival 2019”. This was a unique opportunity to showcase Yemen and for the first time in such event demonstrate the richness of the Yemeni culture to our community in Ottawa. Hundreds of people passed by, enjoyed some of our treats and took pictures.
Photos: Kais Al-Iriani, Mohamed Al-Humaidi, Radwan Al-Futaini
