Göçmenlere Sunulan Servisler Veritabanı
Ryerson Üniversitesi ve Turkish Society of Canada işbirliği ile devreye sokulan yeni bir proje kapsamında, gereksinim duyan Türk toplumu üyeleri ile paylaşılması amacı ile, yeni gelen göçmenlere hangi kurumlar tarafından hangi servislerin sağlandığının envanterinin çıkartılması çalışmaları başlatıldı. Ryerson Üniversitesi öğrencisi Mohanza Kelly bu amaç doğrultusunda derneğimizde çalışmaya başladı. Bu projenin gerçekleşmesindeki desteklerinden ötürü değerli bilim insanımız Mustafa Koç’a çok teşekkür ediyoruz. Aşağıda Mohanza Kelly’nin hazırlamış olduğu hem kendisini hem de projeyi tanıtan yazısını sunuyoruz:
My name is Mohanza Kelly and I am a graduate student enrolled in the Immigration and Settlement Studies (ISS) program at Ryerson University. The ISS program is geared towards preparing participants with creative ways to address the various issues that arise with the settlement and integration of immigrants into Canadian society. I am an immigrant myself and I have been exposed to many challenges that emerged after moving to Canada. Fifteen years have passed and I am still learning and evolving in my capabilities.
Music is my first love and it has saved my life many times by giving me a space to express my thoughts to those willing to listen. I am a singer and songwriter, and I also facilitate workshops that allow young people to explore their creativity in music and other forms of artistic expression. Currently I have a band entitled “Obadiah” and I am actively recording, writing and performing throughout the city of Toronto. I was born in Jamaica and reggae music has had a huge influence on my artistry. The music I create offers a blending of different types of music to create an organic sound of reggae mixed with rhythm and blues. I try not to enclose myself by defining what kind of singer I am because I believe music offers new perspectives that will influence the kind of songs I write and the melodies in which they are sung.
My music career has allowed me to make some really good connections over the years and has provided opportunities that motivate me to keep perusing my goals. In 2004, I was one of the top 32 contestants on Canadian Idol and this opened up many doors for me to share my music with my local community and the rest of the city. Education is yet another important part of my life and my academic studies in the ISS program has equipped me with the training needed to fulfill the passion I have to help people.
The ISS program requires that each student do a placement with an immigrant-serving agency so that they can gain practical experience in the real world. The coordinator of the ISS placement program sends out job postings from selected agencies by email to participants of the program so that they can apply by sending their resume and cover letter. The agencies are responsible for reviewing these applications and selecting potential candidates for interviews in order to fill the placement position. I was interested in working with the Turkish Society of Canada due to the potential of building a long-lasting relationship and to gain valuable experiences working with a community that is very organized in terms of their service to their community.
I was delighted to be selected by the Turkish Society of Canada as a placement student and my objective was to produce a report about the different types of services available to new immigrants. My studies have shown that access to reliable and valid immigration and settlement related information is very important to the lives of new immigrants so I approached this project with great enthusiasm hoping that it will help any person in need of settlement assistance. These services range from what to do when immigrants first arrive in Canada to more specific inquiries like how to obtain certification and license as a foreign-trained professional among other topics.
The supervisors of this project were Cansu Meriçer (Director of Membership Duties) and Rüçhan Akkök (Director, Social Networking & “Info” Correspondence) from the Turkish Society of Canada. The information gathered for this report included a thorough online research of settlement and immigration related websites as well as meetings with professionals in the settlement field. This information is reliable as it was retrieved from the official federal and provincial government websites administered by Citizenship and Immigration and Ontario Immigration. Other complementary links from notable local settlement agencies in the Greater Toronto Area were also included to ensure that all the necessary information was gathered. This report will always be relevant as it consists of the most recent information and will be updated should the federal or provincial government make any changes.
This research was a learning process for myself and I am grateful to the Turkish Society of Canada for giving me the opportunity to do this research and for making me feel like I’m a part of their larger community.
Thank You.
Mohanza Kelly
