Jose Maria Jordan, 10, has only been in Canada for just over a year, but he's already quite attached. The Grade 4 student likes the snow, ice-skating and the safety of town compared with where he used to live in Mexico City.
“I like it so much,” said the Grade 4 student. “If they say I come back to Mexico, I say, ‘No, only for visit.'”
But it wasn't easy for him. Leaving all his friends behind in October 2011, his family joined his father who had been working in Innisfail previously.
“School's so hard because I don't know English,” he said, “The first time it was scary.”
Things got a lot easier for the family when they reached out to the Central Alberta Refugee Effort (CARE), which recently launched a pilot program to advance the integration of newcomers in Central Alberta's rural setting.
“They show the more better opportunity for we,” said Jose Maria's dad Fabian Jordan, 42, a farm worker who had originally been employed in Alberta meat-packing plants. “I never had the idea for all the opportunities they have in Canada.”
He says CARE was quite helpful in arranging subsidies for karate lessons for his kids and has provided much- needed translation services for parent-teacher meetings.
“Sometimes teachers don't understand what I'm trying to explain,” he said.
The Jordans say the organization, which aids refugees and immigrants across the region by setting them up with library cards, Internet access, and assisting with immigration and sponsorship papers and more, provided a crucial link to Canadian society.
When CARE doesn't provide a service directly it will provide referrals to the proper agencies.
Local residents who wanted to help refugees displaced by the Vietnam War started CARE back in 1979. The organization now works in partnership with the Immigration and Settlement Service of Catholic Social Services to help all sorts of immigrants connect with the community.
Herb Barrios, a settlement support worker who has been assigned to help the Jordans, says adjusting to Canadian culture can be a struggle for newcomers who don't have many points of reference to help them understand the social environment.
“If they don't know what to wear in winter we make sure we specify what they need,” he said, noting some of the changes are more superficial, while others are deeper issues. “The parents have to understand that Canadians are not against them.”
As families overcome hurdles the settlement worker continues to follow up.
“As we go along we make a revised needs assessment,” Barrios said.
They also make sure newcomers are having fun too.
Jose Maria said he's found there's less bullying in Innisfail than in his old school in Mexico, and he's made some amazing friends as well who have helped him out along the way.
Fabian is happy Jose Maria and his 17-year-old son Hector will have the chance to compete at a karate tournament May 18 in Red Deer, thanks to support from CARE. Hector won first place in fighting and kata at a recent tournament in Saskatoon.
“I was just excited when I saw him win,” Fabian said. “He made a good fight.”
He can't wait to see his younger son Jose Maria compete for the first time at the Red Deer tournament.
“For Jose it's his first time participating in a tournament in Canada,” he said. “I hope he has a good score for that first opportunity.”
