By Ashliegh Gehl with files from Katrina Geenevasen
Figuring out how to help immigrants settle into Canada isn’t exactly dinner table conversation, but a Loyalist College graduate thinks it should be.
Charolotte Kudadirgwa, 28, is an International Support Worker graduate who created a radio documentary report on the issues immigrants face when coming to Canada.
“Welcome to Canada… Now What?” is a 13-minute report describing the lives of two Belleville women who immigrated to Canada and their immediate sense of isolation after making Canada home.
Unlike other immigration documentaries, Kudadirgwa’s piece strikes a different chord due to its transparency.
“It’s following the lives of people who are in Belleville,” said Kudadirgwa. “Usually we hear quotes from immigrants. Or the interviews are anonymous. But these are women who wanted to come forward and give advice to new immigrants that are just arriving to Canada as well as what Canadians can do to help immigrants settle in.”
Helping immigrants settle in is as easy as inviting them over for dinner or welcoming them to the community. As Kudadirgwa’s documentary explains, a dinner invitation increases social integration.
Kudadirgwa says her favourite part about the documentary is the commonalities the women shared.
“They gave a balanced view,” she said. “So, even though they had some issues with the way that they were not able to receive help upon arrival in Canada, and all of them didn’t arrive straight to Belleville. They arrived in Toronto and then they came to Belleville. What was interesting was Belleville was the first place they all felt at home.”
Click the link to listen to Kudadirgwa’s documentary.
Welcome to Canada… Now What? [1]