ISSUE 6 g{x V|à|éxÇ INTER Durham Region’s Diversity Focused Newsletter W 2010 Building a culture of inclusion: Benefit for flood victims in Pakistan Inside this issue: “IF DANCING Inclusion starts with youth 2 IS THE Youth HOST Program 2 POETRY OF THE BODY An evening of hope 3 THEN Voices: Durham newcomers 4 GENEROSITY students tell their stories IS THE Building job-search skills with 4 newcomers POETRY OF THE SOUL." Seasons greetings! 5 - PICKERING World Religion Day 5 MAYOR DAVE RYAN Hispanic Seniors Group 6 The Deaf Interpreter Program 6 Back (left to right): Chief Mike Ewles, Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan, Audrey Andrews, Ajax-Pickering MP Mark Holland, Don Terry (OPG Public Affairs Manager), Places of Worship Tour 7 Pickering-Scarborough East MP Dan McTeague, Mohammed Rahim (President, Public Health holds diversity 7 Pickering Islamic Centre) workshop for Regional staff Front (left to right): Vaqar Raees (OPG), Saeed Sidique, Andaleeb Tabassum. Durham Immigration Portal 8 Tracey Vaughan, Shashi Bhatia (Chair, Indo-Canadian Cultural Association of Durham), and Ashok Bhatia Improving labour market 9 outcomes The auditorium was filled with Those who went before: 9 On Oct. 23 in the OPG Ukrainian-Canadians auditorium something special participants from a wide variety of backgrounds who enjoyed an The Local Diversity & 10 happened in Durham Region. Immigration Partnership Under the banner “Aman Ki evening of food, music and Bhasha”— Language of Peace, dance from around the world. Working in your field: A 12 Durham’s Pak-Canadian The evening was punctuated journey Friendship Society and the Indo- with sombre moments as video Canadian Cultural Association from Pakistan showed the about all of humanity and for joined forces to raise money for devastating degree of that she is grateful. The event Pakistani flood victims. This was destruction and true human raised $8,500 and generated a unique and important event suffering as a result of the untold goodwill. demonstrating how communities floods. Shashi Bhatia, Co-chair that have historically seen of the Indo-Canadian Cultural conflict between them can use Association emotionally emceed the common ground of Canada this historic evening and and the common threads of reminded us that her adopted Audrey Andrews humanity to indeed be “our home of Canada gives her the Manager, Diversity & Immigration Program brother’s keeper”. space and freedom to care Region of Durham Translation links: www.translate.google.com Durham Region’s Diversity Focused Newsletter PAGE 2 Inclusion starts with youth Racism Stop It! and the Mathieu DaCosta Challenge, two national competitions for youth, were the focus of a fun and successful workshop held at Durham Regional Headquarters on Saturday, Nov. 16. The successful and fun event was hosted by the Local Diversity and Immigration Partnership Council (LDIPC) with corporate sponsorship from Scotiabank. There was no shortage of talent or good ideas as local students interested in participating in one or both of these prestigious national contests took part in the half- day session. Professional videographer Raheel Raza shared tips on how to create videos and how individuals and schools can enter one or both of these annual contests. Students took application packages, their unbridled enthusiasm and plenty of helpful information back to their schools in the hopes Durham will make its mark in the contests. Many thanks to Sante Tesolin and Caroline Nevin of Scotiabank for providing the great pizza lunch and the generous prizes and to Betty Austin Lennard receives his iPod Nano from Chartrand, Nadia Polani and Keith Richards for all their Caroline Nevin, Branch Manager at help and support without which the workshop would not Scotiabank. have been such a great success. Hilary Schuldt Policy Advisor, Diversity & Immigration Program Region of Durham Youth HOST Program at WMRCC of Durham WMRCC of Durham’s Youth HOST program supports newcomer and immigrant youth within the Durham school system and community to adapt, integrate and overcome stress with their transition into a new life in Canada. Student volunteers are matched with newcomer youth for friendship in a fun and safe environment. Newcomer and immigrant youth gain emotional and social support through participating in social activities. The program is implemented according to each specific school’s needs. Some of the special activities we do in the schools include conversation circles, mentoring, providing and bringing Members of the Youth HOST program. awareness of services and resources in the community, building networks, and assisting with school functions such as multicultural celebrations and talent shows. We have a weekly youth night at local libraries and community centres. This program provides workshops, information sharing, recreational activities and cultural presentations. The Youth Host Program works in collaboration with the SWIS Program at CDCD. For more information, please contact our centre at [email protected]. Esther Enyolu Youth HOST program members visit Executive Director Niagara Falls. WMRCC of Durham Durham Region’s Diversity Focused Newsletter PAGE 3 An evening of hope: Shaquille Wisdom memorial “There are times in life where we are so We have come so far and yet every day we still impacted by events that we stop whatever we hear of gay bashings and young people being are doing to pay attention and to focus. This is banished from their families and another suicide one of those times. Our LGBT youth are facing a in our community. This is why PFLAG Canada crisis that is not of their choosing. Homophobia Durham is here. We are here at the front line and bullying is taking its toll on the LGBT supporting those facing issues of sexual community, especially our youth. We must send orientation and gender identity. We deliver a message that homophobia and bullying is not awareness programs and crisis support in our acceptable in our schools and in our local schools and with health care providers. communities, both on the ground and on the In Durham we have sharing meetings in internet. Oshawa, Uxbridge and Pickering. We welcome Many of us who volunteer at PFLAG Canada everyone: the LGBT community, educators, Durham do so because of a young boy named family, friends, parents, allies, co-workers. With Shaquille Wisdom. Sadly, 13 year old Shaquille your support we are determined to expand took his life in Ajax 3 years ago because of these sharing meetings to every municipality of bullying and homophobia. It touches all of us Durham. personally. In September we decided that the To our LGBT youth, we say this: you are loved, time had come to properly remember Shaquille you are accepted, you are perfect just the way at a memorial and also to show our young LGBT you are. You do not have to walk alone on your people that there is hope, help and acceptance journey. We are here!” in their community. We could not have foreseen that the timing of this message would be so imperative. Our newspapers and television screens have been inundated with heartbreaking stories of young lives lost due to bullying and Excerpts of a speech by Donna McAllister homophobia. The 13 lights before you signify PFLAG Durham at the Evening of Hope event that it is vital that the time for change is here. www.pflagcanada.ca Durham Region’s Diversity Focused N ewsletter Durham Region’s Diversity Focused Newsletter PAGE 4 Voices: Durham newcomer students tell their stories The release of Voices: Durham newcomer Voices follows the 2009 release of the book students tell their stories was celebrated at the Journeys: Durham newcomer students tell their launch event on Oct. 6, at the Education stories, a collection of the coming-to-Canada Centre, Durham District School Board (DDSB). stories of 81 Durham newcomer students. Families, staff members and many of our Voices will be shared with our community community partners came out to see the video partners, and will be distributed to all DDSB and meet the project participants. schools. For more information about Voices: Durham newcomer students tell their stories, Voices includes profiles of 29 Durham please contact Anne Sidnell at the DDSB newcomer students from Grade 2 to Grade 12, ([email protected]). as well as an elementary school parent. Sam, a 17 year-old student in Ajax, tells of his Anne Sidnell Education Officer ESL/ELD struggles and successes, the day he was Durham District School Board granted asylum in Canada, and his experiences at school. Alexandra, an Oshawa secondary Tammy school student, speaks of the sacrifices made Kittananthawongs by her parents in order for her to have a better who designed the Voices cover art with life in Canada. Nardin, an elementary school her ESL/ELD teacher parent, shares her advice for other newcomer Niki Pappas. parents: It takes time. It’s hard at the beginning but everybody has to be patient because it’s like steps and you can’t go from the beginning to the end but you have to go step by step and it’s not that difficult. If you get the key in Canada you can open any door you want, but you have to search, ask and take other experience, and be patient and everything will come. — Nardin, Parent Building job search skills with newcomers On Sept. 29, the Durham Region Unemployed More than 30 participants attended, all of whom Help Centre (DRUHC) hosted an interactive received resources to assist them in their job session for new immigrants interested in search as well as civic information about the learning about the recruitment and selection community. Questions raised during the process in the public sector as well as hiring interactive workshop included: how to get trends within Durham Region (as an employer).