The Moose Jaw Newcomer Welcome Centre is holding a community café session on Thursday, Nov. 16, thereby giving newcomers a place to openly talk about anything on their mind, share insights into their cultural background, and make new friends in the community.
The café will start at 7 p.m. and each community café event will run for a maximum of two hours.
Everyone is welcome to attend, and even long-established residents can benefit from meeting new people, learning from one another, and making a few new friends.
“We’re here to support anybody who wants to come out and enjoy themselves for the evening, and have a wonderful time making a connection, working on their language, and networking within our community,” said Robyn Watson, the employment coordinator with the Moose Jaw Multicultural Council (MJMC) and the Newcomer Welcome Centre.
The community café event is organized by the Moose Jaw Newcomer Welcome Centre, which is a branch of the MJMC.
“It was actually a collaboration with the (MJMC). They decided that they needed to include everyone. And that’s what it is — is to be able to network and be able to bring everybody in, to let everyone have a chance to settle, feel welcome, and be able to talk freely about whatever is on their mind,” said Watson.
The cafés give an opportunity for newcomers to feel less isolated in their new home.
“As we know, networking in any community is vital for our settlement, but it’s also vital for our employment opportunities,” Watson said.
“Maybe they’ve got concerns, (or) maybe they want to share their ethnic foods. Maybe they want to talk about their ethnic languages. Maybe they want to share anything that’s pressing on their hearts.
“(They may also want to) get to know the other newcomers who are here. Sometimes they want to talk about some of their challenges with each other; sometimes they want to just make new friends, because they’re all in the same situation.
“(This is) giving them that freedom to be able to share openly in a safe environment,” she said.
Another benefit is an opportunity for newcomers to meet employers, learn about available jobs in Moose Jaw, and gather more information about the required process to work in Canada.
“You need to hear those things, because it’s really scary to go up to those employers and say, ‘hey, can you give me a job please?’”
“I’ve had the opportunity myself to be able to share my experiences and… my services, between resume writing, cover letter writing, connections to employers, interview skills, and just getting them ready to work. If they happen to get a job offer, I can offer to pay for a bit of training possibly as well,” said Watson.
Dulmi Rajapakse is the information advisor at the centre. Her role is to determine which topics should be given priority at the meetings, and she occasionally lines up guest speakers for the café.
“In October we had (our café) after some time (because of the pandemic). We got 10 attendees, and most of them were from our English language classes. There isn’t a high participation, but we would love to have some more. This time I’m expecting to have some more (participants) actually,” said Rajapakse.
The café helps newcomers improve their English language skills regardless of the topic of discussion.
“Most people (in our program) are not confident talking in public, and they (only) have the basics of English language skills,” Rajapakse explained. “Whenever you try to talk with each other, they try to communicate so that it improves the language. Most of the people who have attended up to now have the basic English language skills, and it’s a good platform.”
“Every voice matters. Even if we do make mistakes, are they really mistakes? I think they are opportunities where we can grow and change, and we can grow together. I don’t have all the answers either,” added Watson.
There’s no requirement to register or call ahead to attend the community cafés. Any interested guests are asked to arrive early or call if they arrive late, as the doors will be locked once the event begins.
The Moose Jaw Newcomer Welcome Centre is located at 432 Main Street North and can be reached at 306-692-6892. To access the building, use the doors facing Main Street.
“That’s what I hope we can all gain from this – that we’re all here together. We’re here to grow and learn,” Watson said.
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