Sunday 2 March 2025
Angels Foundation – A Beacon of Hope and Resilience for Newcomers to Canada
by Godwin Ifedi, Editor
The Anglican Epiphany Church on Oglivie Road was a hive of activity as the Angels Foundation held a belated Black History Month celebration for it numerous members and followers. Under the tutelage of its founder, Chief Mrs. Angela Omoike, it was an event filled with inspirational speeches, heart-warming testimonials, sumptuous food and drinks, and traditional Nigerian music and dance, In attendance as special guests were John Adeyefa, President, African Canadian Association of Ottawa (ACAO); Godwin Ifedi; Board member and Past President of Black History Ottawa, and prominent Nigerian community leader, Dr. Geoff Ebere with his wife Ngozi. Members of the Anglican Epiphany Church were also there for this celebration of Black cultural heritage.
In his keynote speech on behalf of Black History Ottawa, Board member and past President, Godwin Ifedi, noted that people of African Descent had first arrived in Canada in the 1600, as slaves who had escaped from the United States via the “Underground Railroad”. He traced the origins of Black History Ottawa, the city’s premier heritage organization, with a mission to celebrate and showcase the contribution of people of African descent, to the evolution of the Canadian mosaic. He urged recent arrivals, including those who were asylum seekers, to keep their faith as they strive to adapt to their new country with all its challenges. He especially expressed his appreciation to the Angels Foundation, and its iconic leader, “Mama” Angela Omoike, for going out of their way to assist and support newcomers with both material and moral support.
ACAO President John Adeyefa commended the Angels Foundation for the excellent work it has been dong in providing a welcoming space for newcomers, providing them with home cooked traditional food and assisting them in finding employment and accommodation. He pledged the continuing support of ACAO for those initiatives organized by the Foundation. In his speech, Dr. Geoff Ebere echoed the remarks of President Adeyefa and congratulated the Angels Foundation for its exemplary support and assistance to newcomers to Canada.
Surrounded by her husband and children, Mama Angela traced the origins of the Angels Foundation, a charitable program she had founded in her native Nigeria, and which she continued on her arrival in Canada. She recounted her own experience as an asylum seeker and said that she had drawn inspiration from the help she had received from strangers, which helped shape her current mission to assist and support others currently in a similar situation. Several speakers gave testimony to how the Angels Foundation had helped them in their transition to Canada, something that provided them with a home away from home.
The evening was rounded off with traditional Nigerian dancing led by Mama Angela herself, accompanied with a sumptuous dinner provided by the Foundation. An evening to remember!
About the Angels Foundation The Angels Foundation is registered charitable organization with a mission to assist and support newcomers in settling into their new country, Canada. It was no surprise that the majority of guests at this celebration were newcomers at various stages of their Canadian immigration journey: refugee claimants, protected persons, convention refugees, students, work permit holders and newly-minted permanent residents. Several of them spoke eloquently about how the Angels Foundation had provided them with a home away from home, supplying them with delicious Nigerian food, winter clothing, helping them with their search for employment, plus other supports that would not otherwise have been available to them, all single-handedly provided to them by “Mama Angela”.
For more information of the Angels Foundation visit: The Angels Foundation – A foundation dedicated to supporting newcomers as they settle into their new community
