In 2013, while pregnant, Sylvie made the tough decision to leave her home country of Rwanda and resettle in Canada.
Soon after her arrival, her son was born with birth defects and had to remain in the hospital for several weeks. To this day, Sylvie is very thankful for the social workers who visited her at the hospital and, later, at home:
They would come to my house and help out and give me some break time. I could go to sleep when I know somebody is taking care of my son.
Sylvie is proud of herself for raising her son alone. She got involved with HIPPY in Ottawa as a Home Visitor and has since incorporated her learnings into her daily life and interactions with her son, now five years old:
I always ask myself, am I a good enough mother for my son? Through the HIPPY program, I learned how to guide him, how to teach him. For example, I learned to put dots on paper for him and then ask him to connect them by drawing a line. Before, I would do it for him.
Sylvie wants to raise her son to be respectful of others and to contribute to his community. Through her role as a Home Visitor for the HIPPY program, she is determined to lead by example:
I have come to realize the impact. How helpful it is towards the families and education. I would like to teach my children to be respectful towards one another and to be involved in the community, to contribute.