Teacher joins ranks of newest Canadians at Etobicoke school.
Ten years after leaving Kenya, Father Henry Carr teacher Elizabeth Ngaruiya (left) officially became a Canadian citizen – along with 99 other immigrants from 35 different countries – Wednesday morning at a citizenship ceremony in front of hundreds of her students in the school's gymnasium. Also there to cheer Ngaruiya on were her husband and 4-year-old daughter, Sherrin (pictured here).
Staff photo/CYNTHIA REASON
Little Sherrin stood on a chair in the middle of Father Henry Carr Catholic School's gymnasium Wednesday morning, arm raised high and proud, waving a small paper Canadian flag in time with the school choir's rendition of the national anthem.
The smile on her beaming four-year-old face was for her mother, Kenyan-born Elizabeth Ngaruiya, who was one of 100 new Canadians to take the oath of citizenship in front of Etobicoke North MP Kirsty Duncan and hundreds of local elementary and high school students during a special citizenship ceremony - the first ever to be held at a north Etobicoke high school.
In Ngaruiya's case, the event was made even more momentous by the fact that she was able to share the occasion with the students she's been teaching at Father Henry Carr for the past five years.
"It was very special. I was very honoured to receive my citizenship in front of the students and I felt very special when they cheered," she said of the thunderous standing ovation she received when her name was called out.
Ngaruiya first came to Canada ten years ago as a student herself, leaving her family and life in Kenya behind to study at Trent University. She landed her first teaching job at Father Henry Carr, where she's been teaching English and Religion for the last five years, while also pursuing a Masters degree at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and raising her Canadian-born daughter.
At Father Henry Carr, she's found a home away from home, she said following the ceremony.
"The diversity of the students is amazing here. We have a lot of students from all over the world and they all work together so well, and the staff has been very accommodating, kind and generous," she said. "I miss home, of course, but this is my new home."
Wednesday's special ceremony was jointly hosted by Father Henry Carr's Legal Education Advancement Program (L.E.A.P.) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and officiated by Justice Aris Babikian.
In a special address to the assembled students, Babikian lauded the choice of venue for the ceremony as an apt one.
"It is a double pleasure to be here with you, the students - the future generation of our country, the future face of our country, the future scientists, athletes, artists, politicians, lawmakers," he said. "You are here to witness a unique experience."
And for Ngaruiya and her 99 fellow new Canadians, Babikian had nothing but praise.
"Your presence here today confirms that your long journey is over. Your courage, perseverance and faith have been rewarded. You have been forced to walk a long and very difficult road, but that road has brought you to us," he said. "We now welcome you as part of our extended family."
At that, little Sherrin clapped her hands once more and smiled proudly up at her mother - north Etobicoke's newest Canadian citizen.