By Sarah Onyango
Monday 7 June 2024
What an amazing start to my week it was to celebrate our 2024 Welcoming Ottawa Week Ambassadors this morning! It was truly inspiring to hear snippets of their stories of kindness, compassion and commitment! Many thanks to OLIP for continuing to organize this event which showcases positive newcomer & immigrant stories! It was also very enlightening to hear from Daniel Bernhard (Institute for Canadian Citizenship) about the current challenges involved in the retention of newcomers. I hope the officials in the room took his calls to action to heart, especially that part about viewing newcomers as contributors to society and the economy and not just consumers of govt programs & services. And what can I say about the fabulous Orkidstra musicians who serenaded us so beautifully! Look out for highlights of today’s WOW launch on Rogers 22 and check out the over 140 events in Ottawa, Lanark and Renfrew in this year’s WOW calendar! www.welcomingottawaweek.com
All photos credit Sarah Onyango