New Welcome Centre boys’ cricket program a hit with Afghanistan immigrants and refugees

A new boys’ cricket program by the district’s Welcome Centre is giving immigrant and refugee youth from Afghanistan a positive outlet for activity, connection and mentorship outside of school.

Faiz Sahebzadah, a settlement worker with the Welcome Centre, pitched the idea of a cricket program earlier this year and gained instant support from the district to organize weekly matches for students. The program started in early May and has since more than doubled in size and interest, with students travelling from many schools across the district including Frank Hurt, Guildford Park, Kwantlen Park, L.A. Matheson, Lord Tweedsmuir and Princess Margaret secondary schools.

“I initially invited 22 students so we could have two teams of 11, and right now, I’m standing at 46,” said Sahebzadah. “We keep getting calls from everywhere, the interest is overwhelming. The kids, the parents, the whole community is talking about it.”

Sahebzadah said the idea for the program stemmed from wanting to create something positive for youth to do, in response to students’ personal experiences of adjusting to school and a new country.

“I was hearing feedback from schools that some students weren’t having a positive experience” he said. “Newcomers often have a lot of things stacked against them – cultural barriers, language barriers, being in a new country, new environment.

“It’s different from back home, and I personally faced those same issues when I came as a refugee 25 years ago, and I knew there was something that could bring them together and ensure each of these students felt a sense of belonging and community.”

The program serves as an opportunity for Sahebzadeh to mentor students on such qualities as leadership, camaraderie and communication, and he shares information on other programs they can join to stay on the right track.

With such an overwhelmingly positive response, the Welcome Centre is now planning to offer cricket twice a week to accommodate the number of students who want to play, and Sahebzadah said the parents are just as interested as the students in expanding the offerings.

“The parents say, ‘As long as I know my kids are with the Welcome Centre and going to the cricket game, that’s fantastic,’” he said. “The great thing about it is, these kids come from all over Surrey and get to meet each other through this program and now they’re friends. They’re not from the same school but they’re from the same team, and maybe 10 or 15 years from now, they’ll remember they met at this cricket club.

“The future of cricket in Canada looks very bright to me.”