Success Stories

A Sense of Belonging: Somali Settlement Experience in Canada

Somali Immigrants document their history and share their experiences

Did you know that it is polite to leave a little bit of food on your plate when eating at a Somali’s? This custom indicates to your Somali host that he/she has given you a plentiful serving of food. Finishing your plate would indicate that you are still hungry. This is one of the many facts you can learn about Somali culture in A Sense of Belonging: Somali Settlement Experience in Canada.

Produced by the Somali Immigrant Aid Organization (SIAO), the Web site documents the historical background of Somalis in order to educate Canadians and reach out to new Somali immigrants. Under contract to Canada’s Digital Collections, the Web site was created by seven students living in Toronto.

As of March 2000, the Canada’s Digital Collections (CDC) program, funded by the Youth Employment Strategy, has enabled over 2,300 young Canadians (ages 15-30) to gain valuable work experience in the multimedia sector. By converting significant Canadian content for display on the Information Highway, Canadian youth have not only gained skills for knowledge-based employment but have provided greater access to Canadian holdings located in archives, libraries, museums and other sources.

A Sense of Belonging presents the Somali settlement experience by contrasting nomadic cultures with life in Canada and examining issues related to housing, jobs, education, the role of women in Islamic culture who immigrate, and the experience of becoming accustomed to western life and values. In order to shed some light on the current political situation in Somalia, the Web site also includes a section on the history of Somalia through the centuries and the problems that surfaced in colonization and twentieth century political developments. Also, sections on Somalian arts, women, spirituality, music and language enhance our knowledge of Somalia.

The CDC project was a success for the youth involved in the production of the Web site and for the Somalian community which previously had little information related to Somali culture on the Internet. Gael Hepworth, project leader describes the youths’ experience as “giving the youth a sense of belonging within the community. It also established their contribution internationally since a few weeks earlier there had been nothing about Somalia on the Internet. Now there is a Web site and the youth of our community created it! Sometimes, our youth feel others have very little respect for their abilities, this opportunity gave them a strong sense of pride and of accomplishment.”

For the Somali Community, the Web site is a communication tool that enables them to share their experience with other Canadians. Over 80,000 Somali individuals have now settled in Canada and have a significant presence in urban centers like Toronto. Mr. Hepworth explains that this site allows “Canadians to access information and improve their understanding of the community in a manner that is respectful of Somali culture and non-intrusive to their experience.”

The site also proves to be useful for Somali children who have settled in Canada. In describing the many benefits gained from the creation of this Web site, Mr. Hepworth mentioned that the site not only gave the youth a sense of belonging within the community but also gave young students a sense of pride. The Web site gives “recognition for our children in schools to visit the Web site and explain the experiences of our community to their Canadian friends.”

The seven individuals who participated in the Canada’s Digital Collections project were from various levels of IT experience. Some were undertaking a Computer Science degree, others had some knowledge of computers, while the majority had no prior knowledge of computers or been exposed to the potential of the Internet. Within the few weeks they worked on the project, all the students became well versed in HTML programming and web design. “Not only have the youths learned about the Internet, they now have this experience to share with potential employers and within each of them is the knowledge that they can make their Internet vision a reality.”

Although the Canada’s Digital Collections program’s mandate is to provide multimedia experience for today’s youth, projects like A Sense of Belonging: Somali Settlement Experience in Canada demonstrate how digitizing Canadian content can benefit a community and educate other Canadians on Canada’s cultural mosaic.

Visit the Canada's Digital Collections World Wide Web Site at http://collections.ic.gc.ca