A moving video which shows two Eritrean child refugees excitedly experiencing snowfall for the first time after being welcomed into Canada is melting hearts around the world. 

Footage captured on Saturday shows a first snowfall for a young boy, 5, and girl, 7, new to Canada, as they run around and play in winter coats while the garden is blanketed in snow.

In the footage, which went viral on Twitter and has more than 2.76 million views, the children can be seen jumping around and holding out their hands as they try to catch falling snowflakes. 

The video was posted by Rebecca Davies, a spokeswoman for the Ripple Refugee Project - a group of citizens in Toronto who volunteer their time to sponsoring and settling refugees.

Using the hashtags “refugees welcome” and “welcome to Canada”, Ms Davies posted the footage on Twitter and said: “A first snowfall for Eritrean children new to Canada.”

A picture was also posted on Twitter of the excited children grabbing and eating snow from the garden.

The children are part of a family of refugees arrived in Canada after five years of living in a refugee camp in Sudan. They moved to the refugee camp after fleeing the violence in Eritrea.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau retweeted the video, saying, “now convince them that shoveling is fun and you’re all set.”

However, the family’s first full day in Canada was marred by steady rain, limiting opportunities to explore Toronto, which they plan to call home.

Source: Evening Standard, Global News

BDST: 1639 HRS, NOV 14, 2018
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