When Thuy Nguyen was just 12 years old, she left her native country of Vietnam and boarded a South Korean boat in search of a safe place to call home. After living in a refugee camp for two months, Nguyen arrived in Canada in 1975, where she and her family were able to build a new life.

More than forty years later, Nguyen is paying it forward by taking care of others fleeing war in search of a stable home and a peaceful life. For the past year, she and her partner Michael Adams have been mentoring and supporting the Noumans, a family of nine from the embattled city of Homs, Syria.

According to the UNHCR, Mohamed Nouman, his wife, and seven children arrived in Toronto in January 2016. Since then, Nguyen, Adams, and a small group of friends have stepped in to help the Syrian family adjust to Canadian life ― from finding the kids a good school in the area, to taking them to doctors’ appointments, and helping them learn a new language.

Nguyen told The Huffington Post that her biggest dream for the new family is for them to be happy in their new country.

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