YWCA showcases multiculturalism

By NICK LYPACZEWSKI TIMES-JOURNAL

Last week marked Citizenship Week in Canada and the YWCA St. Thomas Elgin celebrated the occasion with an annual citizenship celebration, an event to highlight the pride of being Canadian.

"It was fabulous; it was a really good night," YWCA manager of education and employment Shelley Harris said.

"We all re-affirmed our citizenship ... so those in our crowd who would have not yet received their citizenship they sort of participate as well but they're not obviously re-affirming. It's a good time to sort of reflect on what it is they're working towards."

A new element of this year's celebration was a global fashion show, showcasing different clothing styles from some area residents' roots.

With clothing representation from Afghanistan, Mexico, Ukraine and Korea to name a few, Harris said it was a great chance to show off the diversity of St. Thomas and Elgin.

"When you've got 12 different, beautiful dresses and cultures showing, I think a lot of St. Thomas people might not be aware that we have that diversity in our community," she adds.

But perhaps the most important part of the event -- and each citizenship celebration -- was the networking after the scheduled portions of the evening.

"It's always about the camaraderie afterwards and the mingling and so, with this group, they're all very, very warm and friendly and everybody spent a great deal of time just talking and getting to know each other which is what we promote when we're doing our little discussions to make sure you go and meet someone that you haven't met before and get to know them and talk to them about where they're from," Harris said.

Ald. Sam Yusuf was in attendance and said that interaction among Canadians from different backgrounds is an important part of what makes Canada a great country.

"As I alluded to in my speech, the beautiful thing about Canada is that Canada is a country of immigrants aside from our Canadian aboriginals," he said in an interview Tuesday.

"And what makes Canada great is the varying perspectives that we get from different parts of the world....this will naturally broaden our horizons and make us better Canadians. It will make us more understanding, more open and more worldly in a sense. "

Yusuf -- who came to Toronto with his family from Saudi Arabia in 1991 after the onset of the Gulf War -- also mentioned in his speech that new Canadians can stand to gain immensely from seeking out immigrant services like ones offered at the YWCA.

"I stated (in the speech) that I understand where they're coming from as I sat in the same seat they have many years ago and how important it has become for my family and myself to be Canadian and how it's a privilege to be Canadian," he said.

"The most important thing is to try to be integrated into the Canadian landscape, the Canadian community.... It is very difficult...there are a lot of things to do. Just first and foremost is to find these (settlement) organizations or one organization and they'll lead you to the others."

YWCA staff offer citizenship classes, English language classes and handle newcomer settlement services which involves referrals, help with paperwork and giving clients familiarity with local services.

According to data provided by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 60 permanent residents settled in St. Thomas in 2010, and 270 since 2006.