When I come here, I feel replenished with strength.
Now that I come to Baobab Familial, this is my family. When I come here, I feel replenished with strength.
“I come from India. I came to Canada in 2004 – I spoke neither English nor French.
Between 2005 and 2013, I worked at the airport, packing food for planes. It was a job that didn’t require me to talk, you see. But because I didn’t speak English or French, my husband took all of my money. I worked for $16 an hour, and my husband took everything. He didn’t leave me a cent.
My husband was a big problem. I called my family, and my family called the police in Canada, and the police came to my home to get me and my children out of there. I was still pregnant at that time, actually. I stayed in a women’s shelter for six months. My baby was born there.
The women’s shelter helped me find an apartment, and now I live in Côte-des-Neiges. I didn’t have any friends here, because my husband wouldn’t let me talk to anyone. Even when I called my family, he put the phone on speaker so he could listen to the conversation.
Now that I come here [to Baobab Familial], this is my family. Sometimes when I’m feeling a little sad, I come here, I speak a little French, a little English, people ask me how I’m doing, we chat… and it really cheers me up. When I come here, I feel replenished with strength.”
— Anonyme