Tonight I attended a performance of the Newcomer Art Project (NAP), a program funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and a part of Windsor Women Working With Immigrant Women.
The mission of the WWWWIW is:
Assisting immigrant and first generation Canadian women and their families to become full and participating members of Canadian Society.
The NAP program:
Established in Fall 2009, The Newcomer Art Project came from a will to channel displaced energies of young newcomer women and direct them towards something creative and productive — towards something participants could be proud of. The idea behind the program is to instill values of commitment, hard work, team spirit and fun while encouraging active participation in their communities in a meaningful way.
The show (at the Capitol Theatre here in Windsor, Ontario, Canada) was absolutely amazing. The girls really portrayed what coming to Canada from another country is like for them:
- The scary plane ride
- Leaving family and friends behind
- Going to a new school where they are often made fun of because they look, speak, act or dress different.
- Trying to find a job when you don’t speak English well or have much experience
- Home life
- and more
The girls danced, sang, acted and showed who they really were. The music was beautiful, at least one song was an original composition by a NAP actor.
What’s amazing is that the NAP program has only been around for 6 months but all the girls and the adult support team are close, they’re friends. At the end, some of the girls thanked their support team with flowers and gratitude, explaining how they are surrogate moms for the time they are at the NAP program. It brought tears to my eyes.
I have no photos because we were not allowed to take any but it was beautiful. If I see they are putting on another one in the future I want to go.
You can find out more about Windsor Women Working With Immigrant Women but since NAP is so new, there doesn’t seem to be a website or email directly for them. If you live in Windsor, ON and are a young women who immigrated here, contact WWWWIW at info@wwwwiw.org and ask about the NAP program
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