A Yazidi refugee from Kurdistan laughs as he learns the sport of curling at the Royal Canadian Curling Club during an event put on by the "Together Project" in Toronto. Some 45 resettled refugees, some who had come to Canada just days before, learned to curl at the event. REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

A refugee family from Afghanistan are introduced to the sport of curling. The event at Toronto's Royal Canadian Curling Club was the brainchild of Anna Hill and the Together Project of which she's the director. She founded the group last fall to fill a need: Government-assisted refugees lack social supports when they arrive in Canada, she said.

REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

A Yazidi refugee from Kurdistan learns the sport of curling. The group's previous outings include trips to taste maple syrup or to the Royal Ontario Museum. This was their first curling excursion.

REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

Refugees take to the ice as they are introduced to the sport of curling. "Curling is a fantastic, very Canadian winter sport, and we thought that they might be interested in learning about winter sports in Canada since we have quite a long winter here," said Together Project director Anna Hill. She founded the group last fall to fill a need: Government-assisted refugees lack social supports when they arrive in Canada, she said.

REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

Syrian refugee children from the Abdulwahed family look out to the curling rink as it is reflected in the glass. People making refugee claims in Canada after crossing the border illegally have dominated the news. But these individuals, like most Canadian refugees, were hand-picked from pools screened by the United Nations.

REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

A refugee from Sri Lanka, Arun Daniel, learns the sport of curling. Arun, an 11-year-old from Sri Lanka, had seen curling on TV before. It didn't seem like a real sport. "It looked like not that fun. I was like, 'Why is it taking such a long time?' It felt like hockey is better. But when I came and really did it, I felt like, 'Oh, I shouldn't say that'."

REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

People are reflected in the window as refugees learn the sport of curling. That day in the curling club they were like movie stars, swarmed by curious journalists asking how they liked Canada in general and this quintessentially Canadian sport in particular.

REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

A Yazidi refugee from Kurdistan learns curling with club member Jim Creeggan (R). REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

A refugee family from Afghanistan walk up the ice. REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

A refugee from Afghanistan looks out as she watches her family learn to curl. REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

Yazidi refugees from Kurdistan laugh on the ice. REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

A Yazidi refugee from Kurdistan falls over after throwing a rock. REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

Yazidi refugees from Kurdistan laugh on the ice. REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

An refugee from Afghanistan throws the rock. REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

A refugee from Afghanistan smiles. REUTERS/Mark Blinch 

A father and daughter, who are refugees from Syria, walk the ice. REUTERS/Mark Blinch