Hanadi

Like many newcomers, Hanadi chose to settle in London because of the opportunities her family would have here. “When we came here, the children were very young. London offered a safe, peaceful place,” she says, recalling her arrival from Syria in 2002.
Hanadi has also taken steps to be a contributing member of her new home, volunteering with many organizations, including her children’s school, the Middle Eastern Women’s Association, Syrian Canadian Council, London Intercommunity Health Centre and the London Cross Cultural Learner Centre.
She is a social being who loves being involved in her surrounding community and helping others, so it seemed natural that she would enter a career that involves working with people.
Hanadi obtained her real estate licence after taking courses through Orea College in Toronto and now works as a real estate agent. She is the first London real estate agent with a head scarf and hopes to inspire other Muslim women in hijab to enter the field.
Hanadi also works as a teacher at the Islamic school and volunteers with recent refugees who have arrived from Syria. Her volunteer experience has come in handy many times in real estate, she says, when she has been able to connect clients with services throughout the city.
It was not easy to leave Syria, a country she loves and recalls as being peaceful, rich and “amazing,” before the present crisis took hold. But she says she is grateful to Canada for the life it has given her family.
Here she feels “protected” and “strong,” she says. Her advice to other newcomers: “Be positive, be active and love your community. It gets back to your family. Here there are many opportunities to be a Canadian and feel like part of the community.”

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