Episode Description
In this episode, the second in our four-part series with Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSofBC), I'm speaking with Ebrahim Al-Yousefi, who fled Yemen as a child during the 2015 war, moved through Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Egypt, and arrived in Canada as a refugee.
Ebrahim was raised to believe that help runs both ways, you give back what you receive. And for years after landing in Canada, it felt like all he was doing was take from the country.
And so when the chance to volunteer with the ISSofBC came up, he grabbed at it with both hands. And then a communications role opened up, and the rest is history. He describes taking the job less like accepting an opportunity and more like settling an account balance.
Ebrahim and I chat about:
The phone call from Muhammad that started everything
The scholarship named in his honor, and how that happened
His advice for newcomers on integrating
Why he calls Canada an entirely different field of opportunity
The ukulele project that helped him pay down his debt
Dozie's Notes
A few things that stuck with me as I listened through this week's conversation:
Ebrahim thinks gratitude is action. A lot of us perform gratitude in the abstract, a journal entry or a nice sentiment. But we never change what we do with our day. Ebrahim's approach asks us to act on what's already in front of us before we're allowed to call ourselves grateful.
Official Links
✅ Connect with Ebrahim Al-Yousefi on LinkedIn
✅ Read about his journey from refugee to entrepreneur
✅ Support refugees as they build their lives in Canada
✅ Read UNHCR Canada's report, Refugees are Good for Canada
One Ask
If you found this story helpful, please consider sharing it with one Canadian immigrant you know.
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This episode is the second of a four-part series with the Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSofBC), telling the stories of Vancouverites who were forced from their home countries by circumstances beyond their control, and who refuse to be defined by that one day.