The Corporation de développement de Victoriaville et sa région (CDEVR), Service L’ancre and Intégration Compétences organized Christmas parties especially for temporary foreign workers, where dancing and fun were the order of the day.
Text Marie-Anne Dayé / Photos CDEVR Marie-Anne Dayé / Photos Service L’ancre Pascal Laberge
The CDEVR pulled out all the stops for this evening, which brought together some 80 workers on December 15, 2023 at the Hôtel Le Victorin. The DJ and host warmed up the atmosphere with mostly Latin rhythms, encouraging the more timid to get their groove on.
According to Viviana Sanchez, advisor and project manager for TFWs at CDEVR, these activities are important for breaking down isolation. “For workers, during the holiday season, it’s very difficult because the majority don’t have their family here. It was an opportunity to get the workers out, to break the isolation, to enable them to share with others in the same situation as them,” she maintains.
Having previously worked in human resources at Olymel in Plessisville, she is well aware of the needs and problems of temporary foreign workers. “They are often uninformed about their responsibilities and rights,” she insists.
Heart-warming baskets
After the meal, participants were invited to dance by the energetic host. Throughout the evening, the organizers raffled off gift baskets containing products from Quebec, but also Latino and African products “to bring them closer to their culture”, explains Viviana. Since the CDEVR project began in September, an ice-skating activity, which introduced 45 workers to this very popular Quebec pastime, and the Christmas party have been a real success. In 2024, Viviana Sanchez hopes to focus on information sessions on workers’ rights and health, alongside recreational and cultural activities.
Camaraderie and solidarity
In Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, the atmosphere was just as electrifying at the Christmas party organized by Service L’ancre on December 16, 2023. Karaoke in several languages, a salsa class for beginners, a buffet and gift distribution delighted just over 50 temporary foreign workers. “It was an evening full of nostalgia, but enveloped in camaraderie and solidarity, regardless of origin or language,” describes Karla Dueñas, project manager for Soutien aux travailleurs temporaires at Service L’ancre. As a result, workers from Madagascar, Morocco, Cameroon, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala and Bolivia were able to enjoy a little holiday magic, even though they were far from their families. “It’s the dream of a better life that drives these workers to leave their countries and families for months, even years,” Karla Dueñas points out.
Passing on Christmas greetings
Intégration Compétences celebrated Christmas in turn on December 7, 2023, with some forty temporary foreign workers from Mexico, Colombia, Tunisia, Mauritius and Brazil, who filled the hall of the Saint-Paul-d’Abbotsford recreation center with color and warmth. The Intégration Compétences team set up a photo station with Christmas themes. “We wanted participants to take home a souvenir at the end of the evening,” says project manager Kana Yoko. Liliana Salgado, mobilization officer, invited workers to write a note on a greetings card for their families or loved ones.
Even more festivities
Several other Christmas activities took place during the month of December. Complexe X Immigration invited some 100 workers to a Christmas dinner in Sainte-Clothilde-de-Châteauguay, and the Société de développement économique de Drummundville (SDED) introduced local TFWs to the Village québécois d’antan. Click on the links to see the photos!
The project was funded by the Government of Canada.
