05/21/2026
What an honour to be part of yesterday’s announcement that Muslim Social Services and Reception House Waterloo Region are receiving a combined $390,680 through Ontario’s Civil Remedies Grant Program.
This funding takes proceeds seized from criminals through civil forfeiture and puts them directly back into communities. MSS will use their $194,840 to expand culturally and spiritually sensitive, trauma-informed counselling for newcomers who are victims of gender-based violence and human trafficking. Reception House will use their $195,840 to deliver Building Bridges, a community-based program for newcomer refugees, children, and youth focused on inclusion, mentorship, and accessibility.
So much of what makes this funding meaningful comes down to the leadership at these two organizations. Duaa Al-Aghar, Executive Director of MSS, and Babur Mawladin, CEO of Reception House, have each built organizations that combine deep cultural and linguistic competence with the operational seriousness it takes to deliver real outcomes for the people who walk through their doors. Yesterday was a chance to celebrate them and the teams they lead.
And those teams are really the heart of it. The trust these organizations have built with the communities they serve, and the partnerships they have cultivated with police, settlement agencies, and faith communities, exist because of the staff and volunteers who show up day in and day out. They are the ones taking the calls, sitting with families, running the programs, building the relationships. None of this work happens without them, and none of it gets easier. Thank you to every single one of you.
Huge thanks to Attorney General and the Ministry for this funding, and to for hosting us. A particular shout out to Yasmin Haloubi for MCing so well, and to Dr. Brice Balmer for the land acknowledgement. Thank you also to Sozan Rashid, Malik Awan, Liz Cooper, Yasmin Ali, Ibrahim Al-Haj Kassem, Manahil Khan, Samaana Anwar, and the many others I’m sure I’ve missed! Your work matters so much, and it was a real privilege to be in the room with all of you.