Monday, June 3, 2013

Chai Banquet Winnipeg



My husband volunteers at a fantastic Winnipeg organization called Chai, and I've had the pleasure of decorating for a couple of their banquets over the years.

Chai is a program for new immigrants to attend that helps them to practise their English, connect with Canadians, and learn about what life is like in Canada.  Each week has a very practical presentation from a qualified person - for example a police officer talking about how to contact police and what they do (imagine coming from a country where the police force is corrupt to Canada, where they are here to help), someone who works in housing talking about home repair, rent, etc., and a career counselor talking about finding a job.  And the best part is that the volunteers don't just talk - they help by connecting with immigrants and looking for job postings, housing, and sometimes advocating for them or helping with meetings, paperwork. etc.

Please check out more on the Chai program by clicking here.

You may know that my family spent a year in Bolivia, and although we weren't completely starting a new life in a new country as many immigrants to Canada are, we really appreciated help from those who knew what market to shop at, emergency phone numbers, doctors, and lawyers to help with our visa process.

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