Elwathig's Story

Elwathig El Toum (known to his friends as "Tom") came with his wife to Canada from Egypt, where he had spent two years as a refugee from his home country of Sudan, which was locked in the grip of decades-long civil war. Arriving in Canada, Tom spoke practically no English and had been staying at a Ronald McDonald House when a friend that he and his wife had met told him about Momentum. "I had been a student in Sudan," says Tom, "but as a refugee in Egypt I was neither working nor going to school. It was a very difficult time."

Tom thought that in Canada the hard times would continue, especially with no work skills and a language barrier. But once Tom had his first meeting with a Momentum facilitator, everything began to change — and change fast. Soon, with Momentum’s guidance, Tom was taking courses to improve his English and to upgrade his math and science skills. Then he was told that he was eligible for Momentum’s Trades Training Program. Tom chose to enroll in the five-month welding course. As his course progressed, Tom’s English steadily improved. He began to feel like he was really making progress in this new country that he and his wife now called home. "Not only did Momentum teach me a trade," says Tom, "but they also helped me to find a job when my course was finished."

In less than a year, Tom was a competent English speaker and a full-time welder with steady work. The following year, Tom, his wife and their new baby moved into their own home. "That I have a job, that my family and I have a house to live in, I never thought it would be possible. But in less than one year, with so much help from my friends at Momentum, my dreams have come true."