User:Pcwpang

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

                    Lord Byng Secondary School(Vancouver, B.C)
                               Composition 11
                               by Damon Pang
                            
                             Wikipedia project

I am Damon Pang in grade 11, and I have just been Vancouver for half a year. We have been working on this project for a few months, hope you would enjoy it.

                     Problems from new Chinese immigrants

Today Chinese is the major group to immigrate to Canada. About 40% of new immigrants are from China. When they have just been here in Vancouver for a short time, they may find difficulties living in a new place. However, there are many organizations to help Chinese solve their problems.

What problems do new immigrants usually face on? Basically, most people use Mandarin or Cantonese as the first language; English is not a common language in China. When new immigrants first arrive at Canada, they may not able to communicate with local residents. Also, they may not even know the rules and environment very well. Hence they may not be successful finding a job. Finally, new Chinese immigrants will have difficulties to fit in this lifestyle.

In Vancouver, there are some Chinese charities formed to help people. The most well-known one is The United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society (S.U.C.C.E.S.S).

S.U.C.C.E.S.S has been established since 1973 and incorporated under the Society Act (British Columbia, Canada) in 1974. It is the largest social service agency serving the Chinese community in B.C. The primary objective of the society is to assist new Canadians in overcoming language and cultural obstacles, in achieving self-confidence and contributing fully to Canadian society. S.U.C.C.E.S.S is about serving people’s needs with vision, dedication and professionalism: it is a connector between newcomers and the existing communities.

As a the largest agency serving the Chinese community in B.C, S.U.C.C.E.S.S and its staff of dedicated professionals, with a support network of more than 18,000 members and over 8,300 volunteers, provides services to more than 360,000 clients of all backgrounds in 2001. S.U.C.C.E.S.S has been a member of the united Way of the Lower Mainland since 1976. In 1994, S.U.C.C.E.S.S was granted the Citation for Citizenship Award by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration for its outstanding achievement in showing Canadian values and the principles of Canadians citizenship.

S.U.C.C.E.S.S also provides many services for Chinese, like driving school, a program to promote no drugs for teenagers, and some interest courses for adults… The programs are presented in Chinese. Therefore, most Chinese can join the programs. Some programs are formed based on the requirements for new immigrants. For instance, English Language Training can help them rapidly improve their English. S.U.C.C.E.S.S offers quality part-time courses throughout the year. They seek to increase students’ confidence and skills in using English in order to fully participate in the society, and to advance in the workforce. In addition, the Airport Newcomers Reception and Information facilitates the pre-settlement and integration of newly arrived immigrants through the provision of welcome reception, resource referral and orientation. Image:MLC-sm.jpg

Since S.U.C.C.E.S.S is a charity, client can enjoy free services and inexpensive courses. It is also a place for new immigrants to ask for help or information. They can speak Chinese, and therefore, new immigrants are not afraid of asking questions, and the staffs are very friendly and glad to help you too.

To be a non-profitable charity, about 60% of the funding comes from the government, which basically spent on settlement and employment training programs. The rest of the funds used to support other community and social services programs, is raised from the community through fundraising events, donations, membership dues and cost recovery programs.

The two most famous fund raises held by S.U.C.C.E.S.S are Walk With the Dragons and the Fund-raising Gala. The Walk is held in Vancouver’s Stanley Park every summer, and the Gala has been held at General Motors Place for the past three years. The Gala remains a well-expected event in Vancouver with lots of superstars and famous people from Hong Kong performing simultaneously in one venue. Image:Gala2001a.jpg

In the future, S.U.C.C.E.S.S will continue building bridges to promote social awareness and community involvement through the provision of quality services. It will also continue to expand and strengthen its link with other community organizations, in order to help people solve their problems.