Who We Are
Merchant Foundation is a Canadian non-profit organization operating in Canada that aims to provide a platform for the Malayali Muslim community in Canada to socialize and integrate with the new cultural reality. Since 2007, we have been helping new immigrant families to find their new home in this beautiful country and also providing them with all support needed to succeed. We follow an egalitarian organization structure, relying more on the collaborative spirit of our volunteers. Our passionate team has facilitated several socio-cultural events to instil togetherness in the community and have also been involved in quite a few charity activities in Canada and back in India.
One of the events that Merchant Bhai used to organize for the newcomers was the Family Forum, an informal gathering to network and socialize for our community. Started with a Family Forum then, has expanded today to Eid Carnivals, Community Iftars, Inter-community sporting events, women empowerment programs, immigration programs, volunteering work etc provides opportunities to make meaningful connections and build long-lasting relationships. We consider this organization to be our extended family, and we are happy to help our brothers and sisters to let go of that feeling of alienation that most of the new immigrants encounter. With more and more Keralites calling Canada their new home, Merchant Foundation is becoming more relevant than ever by being the vibrant face of our multi-cultural heritage in Canada.
Since 2007, we have been helping new immigrant families to find their new home in this beautiful country and also providing them with all support needed to succeed.
Our Mission
"To help Malayali Muslims to integrate, actively engage and succeed as new Canadians"
Our Legacy
Though there are no official records of the first wave of immigration of Malayali Muslims in Canada, it is likely that a very small number of people landed in Canada early 1970s. It was not until the mid-1990s, a new wave of our people arrived in Canada, most of them via the Middle East, increasing the size of our community.
Although Canadians welcomed new arrivals with open arms, settlement and integration into their new homeland was a stressful and difficult task. At a time when the internet was still in its nascent stage and social media was a term still to be invented, new arrivals often found the task of making social connections in their new homeland very challenging.
Mohammed Merchant, known to those who love him as Merchant Bhai, almost single-handedly came to the aid of the new immigrants coming to Canada, offering them many services that helped them settle here. He helped them navigate through the processes that a new immigrant needs to complete once they landed and was there to guide them in the right direction whenever they had questions.
Although Merchant Bhai passed away in 2006, the selfless acts he did inspire us to carry on his legacy under the banner of Merchant Foundation since 2007.