Providing warm winter coats to newly arrived international students in Ottawa

Hundreds of international students lined up for winter coats at the Foster Farm Community Centre in Ottawa’s west end Saturday.

The winter jackets are courtesy of Khalsa Aid Canada, part of an international humanitarian charity founded in 1999.  

The third annual event supplied jackets to over 400 newly arrived students from 23 countries.

Gobindbir Singh, the Regional Director of Khalsa Aid Ottawa, says demand for good winter wear increases every year.

"Providing them with the right gear with jackets that are rated to minus 20 and minus 30 and letting them know what are the resources they have today," Singh said. "Today, it’s not only the jackets we are giving out, we are giving out information, the Ottawa police are here, the Ottawa Distress Centre is here."

Ottawa police Sgt. Jasdeep Bajwa was at the community centre on Saturday to answer questions and let these newcomers to Canada know the police are there to help.

"Their dream is to ultimately find a good job and settle in Canada, so it’s good to be part of that and be part of their journey and provide some of the guidance we can," Bajwa said. "The challenges they face can be difficult; mental health issues, fraud, tenant-landlord issues, without information or guidance they fall prey to these situations."

Organizers expect the demand to continue to grow next year, anticipating the need of hundreds of more coats for students arriving in the capital.