A force to be reckoned with was one of the ways the founder of the Immigrant and Multicultural Service Society of PG’s Baljit Sethi was described as.
As a way of saying thank you, the IMSS renamed the building The Baljit Sethi Centre and presented her with the lifetime achievement award.
Sethi moved to Canada in 1972 and two years later started working with the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia. She soon realized that there were immigrants moving to rural areas with a lack of resources.
“There were no other agencies in the north, expect Quesnel who had a small office.”
This resulted in her to go around Northern communities to see what type of service they would like and went to City Hall to convince them to build a centre.
“I went to City Hall and talked to the mayor and I said this Northern region is getting so many immigrants and they have separate needs.”
Sethi was also honoured as the face of the Day of Cultures Event this year. She was recognized for paving the way for other newcomers like Rose Toume, a Syrian refugee new to Canada.
“We praise god he brought us to Canada. We still love Syria and it is in our hearts but Canada is also in our hearts now.”
The Day of Culture event allowed immigrants to share their old traditions with their new home.
“We are very grateful that we came to Canada. Prince George opened the doors for us and we want to give back and share with them our culture,” added Toume
The event held cultural experiences ranging from Spanish, Mexican and Indian.
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