There’s no questioning the power of Facebook Marketplace.
Thanks to it, a happy coincidence brought Nashat Cassim and Karen Ayotte back together after more than 20 years. All because of a flower planter.
Where it all Began
In August 1997, at the age of 5, Cassim moved with his family to Toronto from Sri Lanka. Their new home was in the downtown Regent Park neighborhood. Today, the area has gone through some significant gentrification, but at the time this area of Toronto was overrun with social housing and known to be dangerous.
In an interview with CBC, he recalls some of his feelings at the time.
“At the time it was a little intimidating; it wasn’t always the safest place to live. I know my parents were feeling pretty overwhelmed.”
Imagine being 5 years old in a new country with a totally foreign to you culture. Add in a rough, scary neighborhood, then add the fact you need to start school. By yourself.
A Welcome Visit is Paid to His Home
Fortunately for Cassim, a welcome visit would arrive at his door.
The neighborhood public school he would be attending was the Sprucecourt Public School, and just before he was to start junior kindergarten, two JK teachers came to visit.
They brought school supplies and something worth a lot more—at least to Cassim. They built him up with support, encouragement, and advice. And it wasn’t a onetime thing. This continued for the entire school year and made a deep and lasting impression on a scared youngster.
The Family Moves
Cassim would attend the Sprucecourt Public School for that year and part of the next before his family moved. They left Regent Park behind, buying a home in Markham, just north of the city. A much nicer area.
He would finish school there, eventually going on to do his residency in pediatric dentistry at the University of Toronto. He’s also working at both Mount Sinai Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children.
But he hasn’t forgotten his first Canadian roots in his old Regent Park neighborhood. Likely remembering that scared young child he used to be—and the woman that encouraged him—he does outreach work there.
Chance Brings Them Back Together
When Cassim’s mother asked him to post something she wanted to sell to Facebook Marketplace, I’m sure he had no idea what was in store.
As requested, he placed an ad for a flower planter and a woman named Karen Ayotte responded to it. However, she lived in The Beaches neighborhood of Toronto and didn’t have a means of getting to Markham to pick it up.
Thinking the name sounded familiar, Cassim dug deeper into her profile. He tells CBC,
“My teacher’s name was Ms. Ayotte and I look at the school she worked at and now the gears are turning in my head.”
He immediately messaged her and asked if she had taught in Regent Park in the ‘90s. When she confirmed she had, he sent her the picture he still had of them together.
And indeed, she had.
Ayotte, who is now 64 is now a site administrator, but still with the Toronto District School Board. She taught at Sprucecourt for 32 years, and a lot of students would have passed her way, but she still remembers Cassim.
“I remember him so well. He was a quiet child quite liked by his classmates, eager to learn, a little bit shy. But he had a lot of support from his parents.”
As for Cassim, he imparts at least some of his success to his first teachers In Canada.
“I think that value of education and that passion for education traces back to me having such a good experience. I don’t know if I’d be where I am today without them giving me that foundation. It’s a good reminder of what an impact a good teacher can have.”
Cassim met with her and has gifted her with the planter. He also had a long thank you note to share.
Here’s something CNN had to say about good teachers.
“A good teacher … enhances his or her [students] chances to attend college…”
This was clearly true in Cassim’s case.
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