Mentors help Filipino make a successful transition to new lives in Vancouver

By Renmart Buhay
Special to The Post

 

‘Why isn’t mommy coming with us?’

Those were my last words before I departed the Philippines, the country I had known all my life. I was heading to this unfamiliar place called Canada, alone except for my frowning older brother and my father.

And there was some real culture shock on arrival. I struggled with poor English. I was living in a cramped apartment while sharing a bed with my brother. I found the local culture to be completely alien to me. I was usually the only Filipino student in my class and I found talking to my teachers and peers difficult.

I was hesitant to speak English and felt like I didn’t relate to anybody in the room, so I kept quiet during class and to myself at lunch.

I felt so overwhelmed trying to adjust to a new school environment that I gave up trying to form new friends and relationships. Like many immigrants, I suffered from social anxiety and lacked the tools to cope with the stresses in my new environment.

Family separation, limited social networks and difficulty integrating to a new culture are perfect breeding grounds for loneliness. Back in the Philippines I had community, family and friends. Now living in Metro Vancouver, I felt disengaged, alone and unwelcome.

We’re caught between being isolated from our birthplace and feeling unwanted within our new Canadian community, regardless of whether those feeling are truly warranted or not.

These struggles all contribute to mental health problems for new immigrants. Such issues are well documented in destination countries like Canada, the US, and in Europe. But how can you address the mental health struggles of your children when your primary need is to find a job to put food on the table?

So this became my story from the ages of 6 to 12. During these years, I lacked healthy role models and came to see the Canadian dream was not easy to achieve. My father, meanwhile, became resigned to cleaning toilets, unloading boxes and selling Kentucky Fried Chicken for a living where previously he was a respected engineer.

Family separation worsens this feeling of social isolation. My aunt arrived alone in Canada under the Live-in Caregiver Program, and it took years before she was reunited with her children. The years apart contributed to the children’s distrust and worsening mental health in her family.

It’s no surprise immigrant youth feel lonely with parents working long hours, multiple jobs, or living in another country. Outside of the family, there is no one with whom they can discuss their mental health concerns, while inside the family discussing mental health issues is considered taboo.

According to the Canadian Journal of Sociology, Filipino children of educated immigrants achieve a lower education level then their parents, with only 38% having university degrees. Research from Dr. Geraldine Pratt also shows that Filipino children in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto have lower high school graduation rates compared to their peers.

Adding to this problem is being stuck in English Language Learning (ELL) or ESL programs. ESL does not count for graduation credits, so for newcomers this may further delay high school graduation, especially since many youth already are required to repeat grade levels when entering the Canadian school system.

From my personal experience, ESL contributed to my feeling of social isolation. It added the stigma of being perceived as a second-tier student. I actually learned more when trying to speak English outside of ESL classes.

One solution to issues facing newcomers would be community-based mentorship. Initiatives such as the Kababayan Academic Mentorship Program (KAMP) pair newly immigrated Filipino high school students with university mentors.

Filipino mentors are considered “kuyas” and “ates,” big brothers and big sisters. In addition to providing a social support, mentors provide academic tutoring, English learning and post secondary guidance. Having a consistent date to make connections with other young adults from your cultural community also provides a beneficial safe haven and sense of security.

Moving around schools from Burnaby to Vancouver to New Westminster, I never had the opportunity to form strong connections with these adult support networks but I was able to find my way through high school with the help of caring counselors and teachers who took the time to get to know me. Now as a Simon Fraser University student, I credit a lot of my academic success to my faculty’s peer mentorship program for first year students.

I had a 4th year mentor guide and support me during the difficult period of transitioning to post-secondary. The lasting impact of mentors in my life now motivates my passion in mentoring newcomer youth.

Representation matters. Creating ethno-specific community based mentorship for more refugee and immigrant youth would be a good start at facilitating the excellence of the next generation.

Renmart Buhay is a student in Simon Fraser University’s Semester In Dialogue.

Leave a comment
FACEBOOK TWITTER