On a sandy Gabriola Island beach, more than two dozen teenagers from as far away as Africa, Asia and the Middle East enjoy a warm summer afternoon.
They laugh, joke, build sand castles, play in the ocean and listen to music.
The teens are part of a weekly immigrant youth group program that has been run by the Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society since March. It was created in an effort to help younger immigrants between the ages of 12-18 feel more engaged within their community by connecting them with activities around Nanaimo that they might not otherwise have known about.
“Sometimes it looks like we are going to the beach, but it is not just about the beach,” said Deanna Ward, youth activity worker for CVIMS. “It is about socializing and social inclusion.”
With 30 kids already enrolled, the program is at maximum capacity and has a waiting list. As a result, the youths are divided into three teams and meet up once a week, where they learn about Canadian culture and values and participate in activities such as bowling, skating, rock climbing or volunteering at the food bank. On Thursdays, all three groups get together and go on a beach outing or a similar activity.
“We want to promote active healthy living for newcomers. How do we connect people to their new community? How do you feel at home? You can’t feel at home if you don’t know where things are,” Ward said. “It’s all about connection and feeling at home.”
Abdulah Auqbe, originally from Iraq, said he’s been coming to the Thursday outings for about a month. He said he has enjoyed the opportunity to hang out with friends and see new places.
“Every week is something different. We usually laugh a lot,” he said. “We just hang out with friends. If I hadn’t of come I wouldn’t have known them.”
Kashish Gupta, originally from India, said being involved in the youth group has allowed her to make new friends and experience Nanaimo in ways she never imagined.
“We get to have fun and we get to learn about the community,” she said.
The multicultural society’s aim with the group is to allow the teenagers the opportunity to be themselves. Ward said that can be difficult for many teenagers when they’re at home with their families.
“When you immigrate to a new country the stress is enormous. You are isolated. You are often missing your home. In the case of our refugee families, many of them are very worried about family who are still overseas and not in a safe country,” Ward said. “The parents are trying to learn a new language, settle their homes, find work, raise their children. So, the parents have an enormous amount of tension in the family. This program gives them and the child an opportunity to let go of some of that tension that might be there.”
The youth group program also exposes the youths to all kinds of different resources that are available in Nanaimo. Ward said teenagers are more likely to talk to their family about what’s available to them in the community, which is why CVIMS aims to expose the kids to as much as possible.
“When a family immigrates, teenagers play a unique role. They’re the ones that tend to have the best language and the ability to discriminate information,” she said. “I’ve known teenagers who have been responsible for negotiating with the architect to build a house or going with their parents to the doctor and interpreting. They have a lot of responsibility.”
Although the youth group program is still new, Ward said she can already see a difference in many of the teenagers who have been a part of it for more than a few weeks. She said the most rewarding aspect of the group is watching the teenagers change.
“I see their confidence grow month after month,” she said. “They start feeling like they are a part of the community instead of on the outside and that really is the most rewarding thing for me to see.”