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Immigrant Welcome Centre Success Stories
Our Success Stories feature the voices of Immigrant Welcome Centre clients who share their immigration stories, including some of the challenges and how our organization helped them settle and thrive on the North Island.
An immigrant caregiver’s long road to citizenship
On December 9, Ruby Alcala, her husband, and daughter took their oath of Canadian citizenship at the Immigrant Welcome Centre in Courtenay. It has been
Father and Sons
My name is Romeo Hidalgo. October 08, 2018 was a very special day for my family. On this day, my 2 sons, Herome and
The Community Generosity Made Our Dreams a Reality
My name is Aurora Calalay. I arrived in Canada in 2009 February as a Temporary Foreign Worker at Tim Hortons. I was able to
#TheresMoreToMe - 2022
Three newcomers to the Comox Valley generously agreed to share their settlement stories and how they maintain a connection to their culture living in the North Island. They looked back on some of the challenges they experienced settling in Canada and what helped make the Valley feel like home for this video series, #TheresMoreToMe.
This project was created by the Welcoming Communities Coalition in partnership with CV/Arts and was funded by IRCC, the BC Arts Council and the Province of BC. These stories help highlight the cultural diversity in the Valley and hopefully show other newcomers that they are not alone in their experiences settling on the Island.
#TheresMoreToMe
Thriving Together - 2020
Thriving Together is a series of stories collected during the pandemic by the Welcoming Communities Coalition. Thriving Together shares newcomers’ feelings about living through a pandemic in a new community and culture.
Thriving Together 5: Getting Creative During the COVID-19 Pandemic
My name is Daito Mitsumiya and I am from Tokyo; Japan and I am here for an exchange program. I arrived at Campbell River in January 2020, so I
Thriving Together 4: Difficulty Connecting to the Community Due to COVID-19
My name is Tony Kwon and I immigrated to Canada from South Korea last June. I spend most of my time with my family and
Thriving Together 3: Racial Discrimination Due to COVID- 19
Before I immigrated to Canada from South Korea, I spent less time with my family because I was working long hours. Since moving here, I
#UncommonCourage - 2016
Uncommon Courage is a video series produced by the Immigrant Welcome Centre in partnership with Shaw TV North Island. The series shares the stories of former refugees who settled in Campbell River.
