At this time of year, we start to think about a fresh start. The new school year is approaching and with it comes the anticipation of a new beginning. It’s a clean slate - with potential for all sorts of experiences and learning. The anticipation is sometimes mixed with excitement, and a bit of hesitation, for what lies ahead. There might be new school shoes, fresh pencils, unmarked scribblers and packages of binder paper. There is excitement about who this year’s teachers will be, what friendships will be made and how hard the work will be.

As children, youth and adults head back to school, there will be other kinds of fresh starts. New Canadians and refugees will be settling in their new homes and may be learning English in community-based programs. New parents will be taking their little ones to programs like Mother Goose, Love 2 Learn and Together to Learn, to get a great start through rhymes, songs and stories. Seniors and adults will be dropping in to programs for help with new devices like iPads and tablets. Adults learning new skills will show what they have learned through earning digital badges.

We have many “fresh starts” in our lives. It’s part of being a life long learner, and has a big impact on individuals and communities. Here are a few statistics on the impact of literacy and learning from Decoda Literacy Solution’s website:

• Regardless of socio-economic background, children whose parents read books to them in their early school years had better reading test scores at age 15.
• Having strong literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills is positively connected to being part of the labour market. It is also associated with being employed and earning higher wages.
• Investment in education and skills training (human capital) is three times as important to economic growth over the long run as investment in machinery and equipment (physical capital).

This September is the 3rd Annual Literacy is Life campaign, hosted by Decoda Literacy Solutions. This year’s theme is “A Fresh Start.”  Communities around BC are proclaiming September as Literacy Month and are participating in a variety of literacy awareness and fundraising events.

It takes courage to embrace a new beginning … and you can help! In the Columbia Basin and Boundary watch for the 6th Annual Reach a Reader campaign, which supports community-based literacy programs across the region. Save your coins for the new Loonies for Literacy piggy banks you’ll start seeing in local businesses and at community programs. Support businesses like Blue Sky Clothing Co, which is helping to “Sock it to Literacy” by donating $1 to local literacy programs for every pair of “reading purple” socks sold. Or, volunteer to tutor an adult learner or newcomer to your community.

Let’s work together to support these new beginnings.

​You can learn more about CBAL's community-based literacy programs in your community by visiting our Community Programs page. 

Joan Exley
Community Literacy Coordinator
Columbia Basin Alliance for literacy - Nelson

August Paw and Thaw Thi are Karin refugees from Myanmar (formerly Burma) who spent most of their lives in a refugee camp.  They had the goal to become Canadians.  In 2013, they achieved their goal - with a lot of hard work, the support, guidance and instruction of CBAL settlement worker Pam Bailie, and the help of many community volunteers.  They continue to attend language classes and encourage their family members and other students by their example. 

Without immigrants Canada’s largest working-aged sector of the population, people between 20 and 44 years old, would be declining.  That is the age group that sustains our economy by establishing new families and households, buying houses, having children, filling gaps in the labour market … and paying the largest portion of income tax.  

Canada receives refugees and lower skilled newcomers; however, over 50% of immigrants to our country are highly educated. Our system of credential recognition is continually improving so that newcomers can put their skills to work relatively quickly, contributing to our economy and lifestyle.   In addition, half of the 100,000 international students in Canada plan to stay after completing their studies, with between 9,000 and 10,000 former foreign students becoming permanent residents each year between 2006 and 2010.

Whatever the background of new immigrants, all of them need varying degrees of help to settle in their new country and community.  When newcomers to Canada arrive they find themselves strangers in a strange land.  Finding a home, registering children for school and finding a job are often the first priorities. Close behind are the daily hurdles of learning where to grocery shop; finding furnishings, clothing and other daily needs; accessing health care; and finding ways to build a social network.  Getting insurance, getting a driver’s license, winter driving, and understanding the legal and political systems can all be challenging and can affect a newcomer’s ability to build a life and feel at home in his or her new community.  Layer on top the need to learn a new language and the challenges newcomers face can seem overwhelming. 

The government of Canada and the province of British Columbia recognize the need to support newcomers.  With funding from both levels of government, CBAL provides settlement services in 10 ‘hub’ communities throughout the Kootenays.  Our talented and dedicated settlement workers welcome and support new immigrants by offering services that help them successfully integrate into the Canadian social, cultural and economic fabric - so they will stay in our communities. Settlement workers provide direct help and connect newcomers with essential services and programs to assist with their identified needs.  

English as a second language instruction (ESL) is an important part of the service CBAL provides. We offer formal language classes, conversation groups and volunteer tutors and mentors. Our goal is that newcomers and their families will settle successfully and, if necessary, improve their language skills for use at home, in the community and in the workplace.  

We hope that newcomers will choose to stay in our small communities to enrich our lives and contribute to the social and economic well-being of those communities.  Ultimately, we hope that, like August Paw and Thaw Thi, newcomers will become Canadian citizens. 

When you meet an immigrant, make a point of making them feel welcome. They are valuable members of our community and have so much to share and contribute to all of us!

To learn more about CBAL's settlement and language services visit our settlement page. 

Betty Knight
Regional Program Manager
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy