Representatives from rural Manitoba settlement service organizations gathered in Winkler Wednesday to network face to face and share promising practices.
    
Every region of the province was represented at the gathering, which was hosted by Regional Connections and planned alongside the Manitoba Association of Newcomer Service Organizations, also known as M.A.N.S.O.  Manso is the umbrella

Staff from settlement offices in Thompson, Virden, Killarney, Brandon, Russell, Riverton, Dauphin, Steinbach, Neepawa, Cartwright, Portage la Prairie, Swan River, Notre Dame, and Winkler were in the city for the event.

Don Boddy

The gathering also had representatives from all three parts of settlement, settlement, language, and working with refugees.  "We're getting together to meet each other and to know each other better, and to work together on a strategy for rural Manitoba on the settlement issues," said M.A.N.S.O. Director, Don Boddy.

Boddy says when it comes to settlement, every community has different needs, and that's why events like this are so important to talk face to face to solve problems together.

"Every community has different things going on," said Boddy.  "A good example of that, Neepawa grew by 27 percent in the last four years because an employer came in, a hog plant.  So they have challenges that maybe Portage La Prairie doesn't have or Winkler doesn't have, but the systematic challenges are the same for all of us."

Boddy explains, each and every day, settlement services have a huge role in helping newcomers.  He says their programs exist to help newcomers get established by assisting with everything from employment, to housing, social connections, all with the goal to make Manitoba and Canada home.

"Can you imagine going to another country where you speak another language or you've never experienced a Manitoba winter and trying to figure out what it means to call this home," said Boddy.  "I can't imagine going to another part of the world and having to work that hard.  The courage that newcomers show always amazes me, to leave their families and leave what they know."  

Boddy said English is one issue, as there are many obstacles newcomers face, one of the biggest is understanding the cultural differences in Canada.

"We're getting together to meet each other and to know each other better, and to work together on a strategy for rural Manitoba on the settlement issues."