Putting Down Roots & Reaching for the Stars

Derek is the middle of Ben's three boys.

NeighbourLink clients Ben and Qin have three good reasons to be doing everything in their power to survive and eventually thrive in Canadian society - their three sons.

Today Ben Du has two telephone interviews. For one of them he disappears into a room upstairs, where he manages to find a little peace and quiet for the duration of the phone call.

On the floor below, his two-year-old son Derek is excitedly repeating the word, “Baby!” as he bounces about his little brother Richard. Their mother Qin is close by, on the watch and at the ready to tell Derek, “No!” if he becomes too rambunctious.

Born just four months ago, Richard is as cute as a button, a pudgy bundle of joy—and the third of three boys. Somewhere mid-interview, mid-bounce and mid-“No!” his oldest brother Benson, 10, arrives home from school. After a shy handshake, Benson pulls an office chair up to the family laptop and commences playing afternoon computer games.

“My wife and I moved here for our kids,” says Ben, now off the phone and back downstairs. In 2008, Ben relocated his family—then only him, Qin and Benson—from Nanyang City, China to Calgary, Canada.

“I like it very much here—not only the city, but the people,” Ben says.

He and his wife left their jobs behind so that Benson and their then future children would have access to better education.

“We lived a pretty hard life here at first,” Ben reminisces, “[but] after one or two years, life is getting better.”

Ben worked a meager six months for an oil and gas corporation before getting laid off in February 2009 due to the economic downturn.

Undaunted, the energetic 42-year-old father pressed on and enrolled in ESL classes at Bow Valley College. A year later he crossed the river to attend SAIT, and on April 29, 2012 he graduated with a Diploma in Exploration Information Technology. Today, just three days later, two job opportunities are at his fingertips.

Baby Richard sits happily in his car seat that
clips onto a double stroller from NeighbourLink.

Their future may be bright, but the present reality is that this family is in need—and has been for some time. Over the years they’ve accessed essential help from several other non-profit agencies, and now NeighbourLink.

With remaining student loans as their main source of income, a double stroller didn’t fit within their household budget.

“This is too much for a low-income family,” says Ben. “If I find a job, everything will be okay.”

NeighbourLink provided them with the stroller, along with diapers and wipes. Not only will the stroller make Qin’s shopping trips easier, it will also be a blessing on the family walks they like to take around their neighbourhood.

“If I find a job, my wife could do nothing without this double stroller,” says Ben, who will be using their sole vehicle for his commute.

Because Ben and his family have received so much help from Calgarians, they are eager to give back to society once they’re on their feet. Until then, they’re doing their best to stand up. •