When they were only eight and six years old, Sedra and Shahd Alshamaly, left Syria with their parents to take refuge in Toronto. ​

​On their first day of school, the principal took them on a tour. The sisters couldn’t understand what she was saying in English, but they immediately felt welcomed. “We could see the kindness through her smile,” says Sedra, now 13. At school and in their new community the girls frequently experienced kindness, hospitality and compassion. ​

​Still, the sisters couldn’t help thinking about what Syrian children back home were experiencing: the sound of bombs on the horizon, the struggle to access food and shelter, and missing the simple joys of childhood. “Now that we were in a safe place, we could not just stand there doing nothing while other people in our home country were suffering,” 11-year-old Shad says. ​

In the past, the sisters turned to art to relieve stress and distract themselves from everyday struggles. In 2020, they took their experience as Syrian refugees to launch Elegant Art postcards to raise awareness about the struggles of children back home. ​ ​ Drawing the realities of life in refugee camps on canvas—children daydreaming of a home, warm clothing and food, holding toys, and hugging each other—Elegant Art gained the attention of WE’s Zein Hindawi, who knew their work could make a larger impact. Zein connected the girls to Cute Roots Cards, a Canadian company that creates wildflower seed paper cards. All profits from Elegant Art postcards is donated to the Molham Volunteering Team, which supports displaced Syrians.​

Art allows Shahd and Sedra to connect with people in a universal language and strengthens the bond between the two sisters. “Art has a lot of emotions and feelings put into it,” Sedra says. “We are communicating more to each other, and we’re helping put a combination of both our ideas together to make one art piece.”​

​For the Syrian-Canadian sisters, volunteering is a natural instinct. In Canada, Shahd and Sedra felt they could start pursuing their dreams, and why wait? Impact is possible at any age.​

“When we came here, we felt this sudden confidence that we are capable of doing a lot more than we think we are,” Sedra says about their new life in Canada. “It definitely feels like home now that we’ve built our project.”​