Archive for November 24, 2009
Crossing the technological divide
A group of Canadian and Kenyan students team up to refurbish laptops. (Mbonisi Zikhali/offCentre)
By Mbonisi Zikhali
They are simple, young Kenyan students with very humble backgrounds. Coming to Canada for the first time has been an overwhelming experience for them. The cultural divide has been so enormous, yet their experiences have been exciting and memorable. (more…)
Cleaning up the Ottawa River
The City of Ottawa aims to tackle Combined Sewage Overflow in the Ottawa River. (Sol Israel/offCentre)
By Jayme Poisson
This week, Ottawa residents will get a chance to weigh in on the City’s plan to clean up the Ottawa River. (more…)
Grown-ups go back to the blackboard
Ottawa’s Adult High School has a variety of programs to help struggling students. (Elyse Skura/offCentre)
By Elyse Skura
Between the neighbourhoods of Little Italy and Chinatown nestles Ottawa’s Adult High School.
The large white building looks like any other high school, but the students and staff are unique. (more…)
Breaking it down: How hip hop is changing Hintonburg
The Hintonburg Breakers rock the house at the Senate Chambers. From left to right: Absobeha Adamu, Kyle Callwood, Lorrie Marlow, Ramnon Adamu, Freddie Garcia Sollows, Javier Garcia Sollows. (Tanya Springer/offCentre)
By Tanya Springer
Between bites of pizza, 12-year-old Kyle Callwood explained why breakdancing was so important to him.
“It’s taught me to have tolerance for people, made me more confident, and is good for expressing feelings—either good or bad.” (more…)
Little Italy gets a new look and feel
By Sol Israel
Little Italy is poised for a little renaissance as two years of road construction finally draws to a close. OffCentre’s Sol Israel took a multimedia look at the project, its effects on Little Italy’s business owners and what the new Little Italy will look like.
City lays foundation for social housing strategy
Ottawa Community Housing units on Loretta Avenue South. (Jean-Sébastien Marier/offCentre)
By Jean-Sébastien Marier
Vivian knows a lot about life in affordable housing developments.
‘‘I lived in community housing my whole life,’’ she said, standing in the middle of her unfurnished living room. (more…)
Ten years for ten dollars: First decade in Canada the most difficult for immigrants
Yee Cheong Tong Inc. grocery store in Chinatown is where Young Ho works. Back in Hong Kong, Ho was licensed to work as a medical assistant at hospitals. (Evgeniya Kulgina/offCentre)
By Evgeniya Kulgina
In a notebook, Hannah writes “jacket,” one of several words she recently learned to write in English. As a new immigrant, she arrived in Ottawa from Jordan just 15 days ago. But Canadian surroundings and the English language are completely foreign to her.
Hard work adds up for immigrant teacher
Less than a decade ago, Kate Naumova was a student at the Adult High School. Now, as a teacher, she uses her personal experiences to help struggling students. (Elyse Skura/offCentre)
By Elyse Skura
Kate Naumova worked for 15 years as a university professor in Moscow, but when she came to Canada in 2001, she could barely keep a tutoring job.
(more…)
Neighbourhoods and government team up to fight crime
New Ontario legislation seeks to make Hintonburg neighbourhoods like this one a safer place to live. (Tanya Springer/offCentre)
By Jayme Poisson
For almost two decades, Cheryl Parrott has been working to make Hintonburg a safer community. Now she’s taking her fight to the province.
Parrott is pushing for new laws—modelled after legislation in Manitoba and Saskatchewan—that would help reduce crime in Ontario communities. (more…)
From rural Kenya to urban Canada
Alex Ndingi, 22, arrived in Canada last September. He is on his way to becoming tech savvy through an exchange program at Ottawa's TechCentre. (Mbonisi Zikhali/offCentre)
By Mbonisi Zikhali
When he turned 22 this year, Alex Ndingi decided to take a year off from his studies at the Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts in Buruburu, Kenya, a small town 45 kilometres away from the national capital of Nairobi.
During this time, Ndingi joined Kijabe Environment Volunteers, a community-based organization dedicated to forest conservation in Kenya.
The decision paid off. This past September, through an exchange program with Canada World Youth, he got on a plane for the first time and landed on Canadian soil.
(more…)
