Give Newcomers a Voice
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Give Newcomers a Voice
At the age of 13, in 1987, Albino Nyuol was taken from his village Mabil Thon in Twic North County in South Sudan. He was conscripted by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. He walked day and night to the SPLA training centre in Dimma, Ethiopia. Then ordered to return to South Sudan, he fought in a religious conflict. Then he fled from South Sudan to a refugee camp in Kenya. A seemingly impossible1000 mile journey.
Photo credit Hien Phan. 24 September 2020
Albino was one of 25,000 child soldiers in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. He survived unspeakable hardship, immigrated to Canada in 2002, earned a social services diploma at The University of the Fraser Valley and became a settlement worker for Abbotsford Archway Community Services. He is pictured here in his office.
His story, along with 17 other stories from immigrants and refugees from 15 countries, is narrated in a non-fiction anthology, Stories from Newcomers to Canada: Re-imagining the Self. Albino and his cohort of newcomers have been writing their stories for the past eight months, writing through sickness and personal tragedy. Since March, they have been supported through online Zoom meetings by a team of volunteers coordinated by Raymonde Tickner, retired ESL professor from the University of the Fraser Valley. She and her co-editors, Dr. Amea Wilbur and Kerry Johnson, also from UFV, and Zahida Rahemtulla, coordinator of the Vancouver Shoe project, all volunteer their time and energy on this project.
In September of this year award-winning author Aislinn Hunter volunteered her time and expertise to our writers giving craft advice in a 3 hour interactive online workshop. Our writers were so grateful and motivated by her support. One of our writers commented:
“I would always remember three 'recognitions' and 'contexts' while writing. I would love to attend more meetings/ workshops with her in the future. Thank you so much Raymonde, Zahida, Amea and entire team for providing such opportunities.”
Our writers would like more of these workshops – workshops that help them learn craft and develop their voices, workshops that help them to feel like part of a larger writing community. We editors know that our writers need this mentorship, and we would like to pay for monthly mentoring from a diverse group of Canadian writers who are invested in supporting new voices. We would also like to offer small honorariums to each of our newcomer writers for their contributions to this book.
These newcomers are not expecting financial rewards. Although catharsis and liberation from the trauma memories that they may endure might be enough incentive for the writers, donations will affirm and encourage their continuing efforts to make their voices heard.
Our Request: $8000
We seek donations to pay each of our 18 writers a $300 honorarium ($5400) and to pay for mentoring or workshop sessions guided by established Canadian writers ($2600). The editors will continue to volunteer.
‘It was a gift to work with these writers – and humbling. Their stories are urgent and need to be told. I would encourage anyone who wants to know what kinds of experiences might reside behind the faces of newcomers to Canada to support this project. Supporting this project also enables the wonderful facilitators of this group to find workshop leaders in our communities whose backgrounds may not be so different from some of the participants – and to support those authors through paid work. Every bit helps. In gratitude for the work these amazing facilitators and writers are doing.’
– Aislinn Hunter (author of ‘The Certainties’)
Thank you!
Raymonde Tickner, Coordinator
At the age of 13, in 1987, Albino Nyuol was taken from his village Mabil Thon in Twic North County in South Sudan. He was conscripted by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. He walked day and night to the SPLA training centre in Dimma, Ethiopia. Then ordered to return to South Sudan, he fought in a religious conflict. Then he fled from South Sudan to a refugee camp in Kenya. A seemingly impossible1000 mile journey.
Photo credit Hien Phan. 24 September 2020
Albino was one of 25,000 child soldiers in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. He survived unspeakable hardship, immigrated to Canada in 2002, earned a social services diploma at The University of the Fraser Valley and became a settlement worker for Abbotsford Archway Community Services. He is pictured here in his office.
His story, along with 17 other stories from immigrants and refugees from 15 countries, is narrated in a non-fiction anthology, Stories from Newcomers to Canada: Re-imagining the Self. Albino and his cohort of newcomers have been writing their stories for the past eight months, writing through sickness and personal tragedy. Since March, they have been supported through online Zoom meetings by a team of volunteers coordinated by Raymonde Tickner, retired ESL professor from the University of the Fraser Valley. She and her co-editors, Dr. Amea Wilbur and Kerry Johnson, also from UFV, and Zahida Rahemtulla, coordinator of the Vancouver Shoe project, all volunteer their time and energy on this project.
In September of this year award-winning author Aislinn Hunter volunteered her time and expertise to our writers giving craft advice in a 3 hour interactive online workshop. Our writers were so grateful and motivated by her support. One of our writers commented:
“I would always remember three 'recognitions' and 'contexts' while writing. I would love to attend more meetings/ workshops with her in the future. Thank you so much Raymonde, Zahida, Amea and entire team for providing such opportunities.”
Our writers would like more of these workshops – workshops that help them learn craft and develop their voices, workshops that help them to feel like part of a larger writing community. We editors know that our writers need this mentorship, and we would like to pay for monthly mentoring from a diverse group of Canadian writers who are invested in supporting new voices. We would also like to offer small honorariums to each of our newcomer writers for their contributions to this book.
These newcomers are not expecting financial rewards. Although catharsis and liberation from the trauma memories that they may endure might be enough incentive for the writers, donations will affirm and encourage their continuing efforts to make their voices heard.
Our Request: $8000
We seek donations to pay each of our 18 writers a $300 honorarium ($5400) and to pay for mentoring or workshop sessions guided by established Canadian writers ($2600). The editors will continue to volunteer.
‘It was a gift to work with these writers – and humbling. Their stories are urgent and need to be told. I would encourage anyone who wants to know what kinds of experiences might reside behind the faces of newcomers to Canada to support this project. Supporting this project also enables the wonderful facilitators of this group to find workshop leaders in our communities whose backgrounds may not be so different from some of the participants – and to support those authors through paid work. Every bit helps. In gratitude for the work these amazing facilitators and writers are doing.’
– Aislinn Hunter (author of ‘The Certainties’)
Thank you!
Raymonde Tickner, Coordinator
Organizer
Raymonde Tickner
Organizer
Abbotsford, BC
