About
The WE Belong podcast is produced and hosted by the Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership. Through interviews with newcomers, immigrants, refugees, international students, temporary foreign workers, WE LIP Council members, employers, and community members, we will highlight welcoming strategies in Windsor-Essex, celebrate local success stories, and promote anti-discrimination, anti-racism, and cultural diversity awareness.
Recent Episodes
<p>Keziah studied nursing back home in Ghana, and hoped to use her skills and experience to practice nursing here in Windsor-- but found that the process to become a registered nurse in Ontario was more complicated than expected. Thankfully, she had support from CARE Centre for I…
<p>Irek and his family came to Canada as political refugees from Poland when he was 5 years old. Since then, he has served his community and country as Windsor City Councillor and Member of Parliament, and currently oversees the TeaMWork Project which supports Temporary Foreign W…
<p>Kelsey Santarossa, Director of Community and Workforce Development at Workforce WindsorEssex, discusses the intersection of immigration and workforce development in the region while reflecting on the ongoing work to develop a community and labour market plan, as well as the st…
<p>Liena et Beraka sont venues au Canada du Burundi afin de commencer de nouvelles vies, et elles poursuivent leurs études à l’école secondaire catholique Sainte-Trinité, qui fait part du CSC Providence. </p>
<p>In Brazil, Dani started running pop-up markets as a passion project to do outside of her day job. Now she's brought her passion to Windsor through the Pop Yard, which has been giving opportunities to other newcomer creators to share and sell their work.</p>
<p>Niku, an artist from Iran, came to Windsor originally as an international student. By connecting with the local arts community-- and supported by the Arts Council Windsor & Region's Creatives at Work Artist Residency Program -- she was able to find belonging in this city s…
<p>Jolyan spent his first ten years in his home country Iraq, before spending another ten years as a refugee in Turkey. Now he's starting a new life in Canada, and is finding his place here in Windsor with the support of St Michael's Adult Catholic High School. Doug Sadler, the p…
<p>Ayah Karra-Aly, Planning and Community Engagement Officer for the French Language Health Planning Centre, discusses the importance of -- and the ongoing work to improve -- the availability of french-language health services in Windsor-Essex.</p> <p>This episode is also availab…
<p>Ayah Karra-Aly, Agente de plannification et d'engagement communautaire pour le Centre de planification des services de santé en français (CPSSF) discute de l’importance — et du travail en cours pour améliorer — la disponibilité des services de santé en français à Windsor-Essex…
<p>Surria's pita chip company Cedar Valley, which she co-founded with her son, started as a small business idea born from a school project and has grown to be a nationwide success. But that success hasn't distracted her from her passion for supporting the community and providing …
<p>Ana (from Iran) and Meghana (from India) share their experiences as international students getting their Masters of Engineering from the University of Windsor, where the Empowr program helped prepare them for the workforce. Victoria Abboud joins to talk about the Empowr progra…
<p>Bouthaina, originally from Syria, was inspired to start her small business while participating in a program at UHC Hub of Opportunities, where Kimberly, originally from Minnesota, works as a crisis counselor and orientation worker. In this episode, both women share their inspi…
<p>This episode is entirely in french. Yasmine est arrivée à Windsor il y a vingt ans et, après avoir découvert les défis auxquels font face les Franco-Ontariens, elle est devenue une véritable championne de la communauté francophone locale — un engagement qu’elle poursuit encore…
<p>Growing up in Zambia, Anold was persecuted for their sexuality. Their experiences led them to working with the United Nations and Amnesty International on 2SLGBTQIA+ activism before coming to Windsor, where they founded an organization dedicated to supporting queer & trans…
<p>Welcome back to the WE Belong Podcast! This season, we'll meet newcomers and long-settled immigrants from all over the world and hear their stories. We'll also be learning about all the local organizations who are here to support them and learn some welcoming strategies. New e…