MonctonCares was happy to participate in the settle and stay event hosted by the City of Moncton. We love every new opportunity to connect with newcomers in Moncton and this opportunity did not disappoint…
Here’s my story about our participation at the event –
I heard about this event from our founder Ketan Raval.
The team here were glad to finally hear about in-person events where we can meet and greet newcomers.
Before the event our team was busy preparing a few props – we printed, cut and stuck small handheld signs with greetings in different languages. I don’t think our team members were anticipating their cutting skills being put to the test!
We decided to bring a tent from our learn to camp program as a way of promoting the event, we were thankful that when we arrived there was an empty space next to us; perfect for setting up a tent.
At 5pm we had the opportunity to go around all the different booths that were set up and meet all the organizations present. We saw some of our friends and fellow settlement agencies. Hola New Brunswick, the Ukrainian Society, Magma and Cafi all attended the event.
As the event got started we began to meet newcomers from all different backgrounds, it was a great time. I personally didn’t expect our survey to be quite so popular (maybe it was something to do with the chocolate reward)!
I met so many newcomers, students and immigrants, but one of my favorites was Ammar and his family from Syria. They’ve been here just a few years but they told me some of the things they loved about Moncton and some of the realistic challenges that newcomers might face when they arrive. It was great to hear their experience and I look forward to spending more time with Ammar in the future.
Things were going great, until one minor problem arose… our survey had been more popular than we expected, we were running out of chocolates!
After running off to the shops, I returned as the last chocolates were being given out – just in time. I’m passionate about this survey, I wanted the feedback of all the people at the event! This survey is important to us at MonctonCares as we want to understand the main challenges that newcomers face when they arrive in Moncton.
Have you got some feedback for us? How has your newcomer experience been?
Let us know by filling out the survey or by catching up for a coffee.
– Jack.
