Patricia Arango - Highgate

Before I can recount my experience as an immigrant to Canada, it is necessary to speak about my experience prior to coming to Canada. I was born in Manizales, Colombia where I received a master’s degree as a Social and Community Psychologist and specialized in Social Management.

I came to Canada looking for more opportunities for my daughter because of the cruel and difficult situation in Colombia. My first priority was to learn English and so I enrolled in an ESL (English as a Second Language) class at Kenton School in Toronto. The first class was pretty basic. We learned names of colours, names of things, and salutations which shows I didn’t speak any English at all.

My life changed. I left behind my family, my friends, my car, my job and apparently my profession. When I applied for my psychologist equivalency at the University of Toronto I was told that they would only recognize my 4 years Bachelor degree with honours. Twelve years of education were reduced to only four. Fortunately, the knowledge I acquired during those twelve years would always be inside me and no one can take that away.

I have to tell you that it’s pretty frustrating to change your life. It’s like being in another world where you can’t understand what the people are saying to you. However, I have an inner strength that drove me to succeed. While working at the Toronto Western Hospital I was going to school and attending to my family. It was good to learn another job and meet different people. At the hospital I learned to set up, clean and install the dialysis machines, transport patients and help the nurses with many other duties. I worked on that project until the end. I learned, I practiced, I met more and more people and the best thing was the improvement to my English.

The best opportunity I got was working at Toronto General and Princess Margaret Hospitals as a Personal Coach helping people who were diagnosed with cancer. Before starting the project at the hospital I moved with my family to our new house in Sutton, Ontario, which is one hour and a half from Toronto. This move required that I commute four days a week to and from work. In the winter the trip was longer than three hours there and another three hours to get back home. I worked at the Georgina Hospice looking to continue my volunteer job (helping terminal patients by providing emotional support and company in their own homes), while holding down a relief position at Sandgate Women’s Shelter in Jackson’s Point, which was only ten minutes from my new home. So, I was working four days at the hospital in Toronto and two days at the Women’s Shelter, and in my free time volunteering at the hospice.

I was always happy and continued to follow my dream to once again obtain the professional status I had in Colombia.

I never gave up school. I went to George Brown to obtain my Advanced Counselling Skills and then to the University of Toronto to be a Certified Solution Focus Therapist and Cognitive Behaviour Therapist. I was accepted at the Ontario Association of Therapists and I have plans to go back to obtain my Masters Degree again, or the Canadian equivalency.

For family reasons I moved to Highgate, Ontario and began looking for job opportunities here in Chatham. I was hired as the Residential Manager of the Chatham Kent Women’ Centre. This position gave me the opportunity to continue my commitment to help abused women and children. My experience helping immigrants to link with community resources was beneficial when it came to helping abused women to link with the necessary resources. A year later I was offered and accepted the position of Executive Director of the Chatham Kent Women’s Centre. I had finally achieved the same professional status that I held in Colombia; proof that with determination and hard work you can be the same qualified expert that you were in your native country.

Being part of the community is very important to me. Now I am a new member of the Chatham Kent Strategic Planning committee, vice chair of the Cultural Coalition, an active member of the Positive Space Initiative, and I keep my commitment to helping newcomers to Canada.

I am a happily married woman and the mother of a wonderful 23 year old University Student. While my life is busy I do manage to keep daily contact with my eight siblings, my Mom in Colombia, and my 20 nieces and nephews. I also keep in touch with the University of Manizales as a community projects advisor and more importantly I go to visit them every other year.

My suggestion for all immigrants is NEVER give up. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one is going to believe in you. Trust in your experiences, in your education, and in your knowledge. My biggest message is that challenges can be transformed into opportunities. Remain close to the people who believe in you. The Government, the community and the Organizations only give you 50% of the help you need, you need to commit the other 50% of your efforts to ….

Love the place you leave. Talk in a positive way when you are talking about Canada, Ontario, or Chatham. Be a good ambassador of the place you left behind but remember to give your best effort to this country in return for the opportunity to be here. Canada needs people like you, like me. Allow the people to know you. In my opinion the best way to gain experience is to look for volunteer opportunities. It’s also the best way for the people in the community to get to know you.