The Rohingya Centre of Canada (RCC) is a multi-purpose event and meeting place where Canadians of Rohingya descent and members of the wider community can meet to socialize and collaborate to achieve their shared goals
Education
Our community-based adult learning comprises English literacy courses for newcomers and adult Rohingya and computer courses and outreach. All of our adult learning is delivered by qualified tutors and supported by volunteers and our partner organizations; our training is free of cost at the Rohingya Centre.
Our team works with a broad range of community service providers and partners to enhance collective community settlement and integration capacities and to sensitize the mainstream services providers to be more responsive to the needs of newcomers in the Region of Waterloo.
Community Engagement
RCC’s community connections programs provide newcomers with bridges to their community as an important step in the settlement and integration process. Programs support newcomers to establish social and professional networks which are vital to achieving their personal and professional goals.
Youth (Capacity Building)
RCC works with community members particularly young people across the Region of Waterloo including Rohingya and non-Rohingya. We use a variety of different youth work methodologies, supporting young people’s needs and involving them within their communities. RCC’s detached youth work involves teams who work in the Rohingya Centre and in local playgrounds to engage with young people from diverse communities. We work with them around personal and community issues helping them to identify what they need support with.
Art and Culture
Supporting arts and cultural initiatives is a key part of our work. When the artistic and cultural ideas of young people are supported is when they feel they truly have a voice in what comes next. We build partnerships with Rohingya youth artists, writers, and readers to revive the art and culture of the Rohingya people. We host a series of literacy events, including book exchanges, slam poetry events, and conducting workshops to empower Rohingya young talent to tell their stories at the world stage.
Sports and Recreations
A team building process, using the magic of Sports to give Rohingya a voice at the international stage. We have established Rohingya Football Club (RFC) with the support of our young people across the Region. Now, RFC has players from diverse communities across the Region of Waterloo. RFC plays in different semi-professional leagues around the province of Ontario.
Language Services
We provide language services because since the first batch of Rohingya families arrived from Bangladesh refugee camps in 2006, the Rohingya community has become one of the fastest-growing communities in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Alberta. As of today, approximately 650 Rohingyas are living in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario alone. Since then, the biggest problem they face daily in integrating life in Canada has been the language barrier.
Volunteer with Us
We offer a wide range of volunteer opportunities which are designed to be personally rewarding while supporting our communities.You can contribute to building a more inclusive and connected community by participating in OCISO’s dynamic volunteer program. Our volunteer program provides a variety of opportunities for community members to contribute their time and expertise to support newcomers to advance along their settlement journey.
Become a Member
As an RCC member, you will be kept up to date with our activities and services through our newsletters and Annual Reports. We encourage you to become involved with our programs and activities to help us carry out our mandate of supporting refugees and newcomers through their journey of making Waterloo Region their home.
Sponsor a Refugee Family
We support community groups wishing to engage in private sponsorship under the Group of Five (G5) sponsorship stream with the preparation of their refugee sponsorship application in the following ways:
Donate
You can donate to fulfil our mission and help the members of the community to enrich and integrate to Canadian society