Our Story

Common Ground Community House (CG) is a grass roots not-for-profit organisation that was created to support newcomers and Canadians of Arab descent in shaping and evolving their common identity as citizens in the Canadian society. Though CG was incorporated as a federally registered not for profit in 2022, yet its journey began four years earlier, when we it operated under the name Kahweh Wassat, which translates to "coffee with medium sugar." This cultural reference represents our desire to bring people together around a warm and common beverage, just as people did back home. Our mission was to provide a social support network for Syrian newcomers who had recently arrived in Canada. To achieve this, we created a series of projects such as the "Cultural Cup of Coffee," which were dialogue sessions focused on a specific topic and facilitated by a member of the community. We also created the "Social Cup of Coffee," which were fun group activities designed to help community members get to know each other better. In addition, we launched the "Explore Syria" project, which aimed to explore and celebrate the diverse culture of Syria.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kahweh Wassat continued to support its members by creating the "Our Diary - Mozakaratona" project, a community diary where all members can contribute by sharing the highlights of their week and how they stayed active and safely connected during the COVID-19 pandemic while practising social isolation

In June 2022, Kahweh Wassat became Common Ground Community House and expanded its services to include all Arab Canadians. Our goals are to promote civic inclusion and engagement, support entrepreneurs in building their own businesses, and help build social resilience within our community. We are dedicated to enriching the experiences of Arab Canadians through community participation, economic empowerment, and self-care.