Volunteers from Around the World –
Did you know that the Hastings Sunrise Community Policing Centre (HSCPC) has more than 100 volunteers? Among them, they speak 23 different languages and come from many countries and backgrounds with a wealth of skills and ambitions.
Many came to Canada to seek better opportunities and pursue their dreams, something that Canadians may take for granted, but was unattainable for some of the HSCPC’s volunteers in their home countries.
Fahima, 21, found her way to the HSCPC last year after attending the Vancouver Police Department’s (VPD) New Kids Police Academy and then joining the VPD Cadet program. She has also been awarded the green belt in police judo! Fahima completed an associate certificate in Business at BCIT and will enter the Law Enforcement Studies program at the Justice Institute of BC this fall.
Fahima came to Canada in 2020 with her parents and seven siblings after her native Kabul, Afghanistan, had grown increasingly unsafe, especially for girls and women. Her father, a human rights activist who had worked for the United Nations, had come to Canada in 2017 seeking safety for his family with the threat of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regaining power.
Fahima always knew that that she wanted to be a police officer, but one event consolidated her decision: “When I was 12, a suicide bomber attacked the all-girls school I attended, and the Special Forces came to our rescue. It was right then and there that I decided that I wanted to do something equally meaningful with my life. I didn’t want to be just a survivor, but to actually live,” says Fahima. Volunteering with the HSCPC and being part of its Sunrise Safety Team is a stepping stone to becoming a VPD police officer. When she’s not working or volunteering at the HSCPC, Fahima also works as a security officer at a casino and assists VPD with role-play scenarios to train police constables.
Dina, 36, fled Ukraine in 2022 with her husband and two children after her town, Herson, had been occupied by Russian forces. The family went to Romania and applied for refugee status in Canada from there. The last couple of years, Dina has been busy creating a new life for her now-family of five, but recently she has felt like she can catch a breath and carve out new career opportunities for herself. Trained as a hair stylist, Dina has dreamed about going into law enforcement from a young age.
“I always knew that I didn’t just want to make money, but help people. I want to be a role model for my children and make my parents proud,” says Dina. After attending a VPD information session, Dina became a volunteer at the HSCPC and has been joining various programs multiple times per week.
“I already volunteered in Ukraine at an organization for veterans with disabilities, and I like what the community policing centre is doing in Hastings Sunrise, so I applied.” She is now an active member of the citizen’s patrol and road safety teams while also doing shifts in the front office and joining outreach events.
If you, or someone you know, are interested in volunteering with the HSCPC, please call 604-717-3584 or email info@hscpc.com to sign up for an upcoming information session
