What is the most important ingredient to newcomer success (part 4)
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Keeping informed, establishing a network, and taking care of your health were some of the best pieces of advice we gathered from Immigrant Centre in the last post. In part 4, we continue with openness, respect, passion, and a positive attitude in life:
Openness in a diverse society
“The most important ingredient to newcomer success is openness to living freely in a diverse society. People will respect your culture and language if you respect theirs. In that way, we offer an open and accepting, and hopefully, welcoming environment for everyone to participate equally in.”
Val Cavers, Executive Director, Mosaic Newcomer Family Resource Network
About Mosaic Newcomer Family Resource Network
Mosaic is a neighborhood language learning program, and family resource network. It supplements its English classes and family programs with quality child care. This allows parents to participate fully in the classes and network with other parents while their children socialize in a safe and educational environment.
Programs and services: English classes with child care, Nobody’s Perfect Parenting program, Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting, Handle with Care program (promoting mental health of young children from birth to six years), Bounce Back and Thrive program, Parent-Child Mother Goose (drop-in), Wiggle, Giggle and Munch, Family Bookmarking, English Conversation Circles, Grandfriends! and Playback Theatre.
“The most important ingredient to newcomer success is openness to living freely in a diverse society. People will respect your culture and language if you respect theirs. In that way, we offer an open and accepting, and hopefully, welcoming environment for everyone to participate equally in.”
Eight essential ingredients
“What is the most important ingredient to newcomer success?
- Attitude– Positive attitude and open mind to explore community resources, and meet people from all cultures. This opens the door to building circles of supports and becoming tolerant/accepting of other cultures.
- Self-awareness –being aware of how your personal attitude and behavior affects yourself and others around you.
- Ability to manage stress – maintaining a balance mind, body and soul.
- Willingness to learn – embracing new knowledge and applying this into practice; willingness to take any job to gain Canadian experience, interacting with others socially, practicing English language and building confidence.
- Determination –taking steps to achieve dreams and hopes and never giving up. Never allow family issues or problems from your country of origin deter or affect your hopes and dreams to succeed in life.
- Stop comparing past life/achievements to the present situation. Change is constant!
- Do the best you can in anything that you do, be mindful, be respectful, be a team player, and always challenge yourself.
- Stop worrying! Have faith. There is a power greater than yourself that can restore you to sanity.”
Susan Irupang-Scott, Supervisor, Newcomer Unit, Child and Family Services, Manitoba Families
(With thanks to Randean Kopytko, Director)
About the Manitoba Families, Child and Family Services:
The Child and Family Services (CFS) division of the Manitoba government Families Department. It works with and provides funding to the four CFS authorities, CFS agencies and community-based agencies to help at-risk families, provide early intervention and preventions services for children and families, and keep children safe and protected. CFS also focuses on implementing new initiatives, policy and program development, budgeting, building organizational capacity, setting standards, monitoring, quality assurance, evaluation and training.
Putting it simply
“The most important ingredients to newcomer success is to have Canadian soft skills, hunger, resilience and passion to succeed in your professional career goals.”
Dennis Mamatah, Program Manager, Recognition Counts, SEED Winnipeg
About Recognition Counts:
Recognition Counts is a program that provides supports to skilled immigrants wishing to work in their fields of expertise in Manitoba. The program offers financial counselling, as well as the opportunity to apply for a loan of up to $10,000 with Assiniboine Credit Union, to help with the cost of having your qualifications recognized in Manitoba and obtaining employment in your profession or trade.
About SEED Winnipeg:
Supporting Employment and Economic Development (SEED) aims to reduce poverty and assist in the renewal of inner city communities by providing capacity-building services that assist low-income individuals, groups, organizations, and economically distressed neighborhoods to improve their social and economic vitality.
Programs and services: Asset-building programs (Access to Benefits, bursaries and RESPs for CSI students, Individual Development Account, Inner City Homebuyer program, Manage your Money workshops, Savings Circle), Business Development Services (Business and enterprise support & training, Business Development workshops, Recognition Counts), Aboriginal community collaborations, and language supports for EAL participants.
Community Resources
This is part 4 of a series of 4 articles answering the question “What is the most important ingredient to newcomer success?” Missed our previous posts? Click here to go to the previous one.