Our story

 

CAS was born from lived experience—a story of strength, reinvention, and the quiet ache of being unseen.
Founded by a Sudanese-Canadian woman who rebuilt her life from the ground up, CAS is more than a nonprofit. It’s a movement to make sure no woman ever has to rebuild alone.

We know what it means to lose everything—career, community, family, identity—and still keep going.
We know the frustration of being talented and overlooked. We know the fear of starting over in a new country where your story doesn’t always “fit.”

And we also know the fire that lives in women who refuse to quit.

 CAS exists for African Canadian women, especially immigrants and newcomers, who carry brilliance in their bones and need a place to let it shine. We are building a vibrant hub where:

  • Entrepreneurs can launch their dreams

  • Learners can explore new technologies

  • Artists can showcase their culture

  • Mothers, daughters, leaders, creators can come together and feel home

At CAS, we don’t just support women. We see them. And that changes everything.

Our Mission

 CAS is dedicated to empowering African Canadian women—especially immigrants and newcomers—to rise, rebuild, and reclaim their voices. We create spaces of belonging where women are not just supported but celebrated, not just included but seen.
Through education, entrepreneurship, community, and cultural expression, we nurture women’s potential and turn their lived experiences into leadership.

We believe every woman deserves the opportunity to thrive—not someday, but now.

About me

Meet Me

A simple woman who turned her story into a sanctuary.

Dalia Altom 
 Welcome to CAS—a space for African Canadian women to be seen, heard, and held.

I’ve worn many titles in my life: engineer, entrepreneur, mother, immigrant, and survivor.
But the one that feels most true? Builder of beginnings.

 

I was born in Sudan, and my journey took root in Saudi Arabia, where I spent my childhood in the stillness of closed doors and silenced dreams. My father worked in another city, my mother raised us alone, and I learned early how to navigate loneliness. We moved often—city to city, friend to friend, never long enough to belong.

By sixteen, I was back in Sudan, chasing education like oxygen. I juggled two university degrees while never quite finding a place to call my own. I married young. I chose love. And I walked through a life that taught me the difference between choosing someone and being chosen back. I fought for my freedom, for my daughter, and for my name. I stood alone in court to earn a divorce in a culture that punished women for speaking.

I raised my daughter as a single mother. I built a company from scratch. I turned zero into $250,000 in four years—not from luck, but from grit and grit only. I cared for my aging parents while healing from my own wounds. I was the one my entire family turned to when they fell apart, and I helped piece them back together while quietly falling apart myself.

Then war came.

I lost everything I had built—my business, my home, my savings, my mother and father—all swallowed by conflict and chaos. I came to Canada, not as a victim, but as a woman with a suitcase full of pain, purpose, and potential. I started over again. I studied English. I earned diplomas. I learned new systems. And I kept applying for jobs that never called back—not because I lacked value, but because the world lacked imagination.

So I dreamed bigger.

I created  CAS because I knew there were thousands of women like me—brilliant, displaced, silenced, and overlooked. I built the space I once needed. A place where African Canadian women could be seen, supported, and celebrated. Where we don't have to shrink to survive—we can rise, rebuild, and redefine success on our own terms.

This is more than my story. It’s a blueprint.

And it’s just the beginning.

Our Vision

We envision a world where African Canadian women—regardless of age, status, or history—are fully recognized as leaders, innovators, and creators of change.

CAS aims to become a vibrant hub where women gather to grow businesses, build community, access opportunities, and share their cultures proudly.​

We dream of storefronts filled with handmade goods, coworking spaces buzzing with energy, workshops sparking ideas, and events that turn isolation into celebration.​

Our future is not just bright—it’s bold. And it begins with women who have lived many lives… and are ready to live even more.

Our Core Values

  1. Visibility

    We believe in seeing the unseen. Every woman’s story, talent, and struggle deserves attention and respect.​

  2. Empowerment

    We do not rescue—we equip. Through learning, collaboration, and action, we uplift women to lead in their own lives.​

  3. Belonging

    We create spaces where women feel safe, heard, and valued. Culture, identity, and heritage are welcomed—not erased.​

  4. Innovation with Soul

    We embrace change, technology, and new ideas—always grounded in empathy, wisdom, and lived experience.​

  5. Sisterhood

    We rise together. CAS is a circle of support where competition becomes collaboration and success is shared.​