A refugee family from Africa is adjusting to life in Summerland, but the transition has been overwhelming.
The Alfred family arrived in Summerland from a refugee camp in Malawi, southern Africa, on July 9 and since then, they have been adjusting to life in Canada.
For Asifwe Alfred, 26, his wife Yvonne, 20, and their three-year-old son Praise, there has been a lot to learn, Brenda Lowe of the One Person Project said.
The charitable organization has sponsored the family and had spent three-and-a-half years making arrangements to bring them to Canada.
Lowe said life in Canada involves many adjustments for the family.
鈥淓verything is foreign to them,鈥� Lowe said. 鈥淣one of them had even been inside a store before.鈥�
The family members are also learning the skills they will need in their day-to-day lives in Canada, including living in a house with electricity and running water 鈥� things they did not have in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp where they lived. There, they lived in a home with a dirt floor and few amenities.
Yvonne Alfred does not speak English, and while there is an English class in the community one day a week, the instructor does not speak Swahili, the language she understands.
Asifwe Alfred has done a bit of work in Summerland picking fruit, and Lowe has worked with him to create a resume, but the family鈥檚 primary focus is to learn how to live in Canada.
There are also some other cultural differences. Lowe said in the refugee camp, Praise Alfred was able to meet with his friends as soon as he walked out the door in the morning. Now, when he steps outside, he is not surrounded by other children.
After their first few weeks in Canada, Lowe said the family is still excited about their new life in a new country.
She expects they will experience a climate shock in the fall and winter, when temperatures will be considerably colder than what they have known in Malawi.
However, she does not believe winter weather will be a problem for them.
Lowe said the community has been generous in providing initial supplies when the family arrived. Now, they do not need more things, she said.
Instead, she said there is a need for people to help take them shopping or bring them to their English class.
Those interested in volunteering to help the family are asked to reach out to Lowe by email at or by telephone at 250-809-9639.
