Learning the second time

By Gloria Makafui Dovoh, 2nd year MDP student

Home office

My placement(s) have been nothing short of interesting, for which I am thankful. For my (local) second field placement, I have the opportunity of working with Immigration Partnership Winnipeg (IPW) hosted by the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg.

IPW brings collaborations at the community-level, to newcomer settlement and integration. The IPW, in turn, hosts the Ethnocultural Council of Manitoba-Stronger Together Inc. (ECCM) which is the second organization I work with. ECCM is a place where various Ethnocultural, refugee and immigrant communities' in Manitoba meet to generate collective knowledge, ideas, information, resources, strategies and inspiration to create communities where all people are valued and welcomed.

Some of my roles with both organizations have been to: 

• Apply to two major grants accruing to $53,750.
• Collaborate to plan the Multiculturalism Day Celebration on June 27, 2020. 
• Work as part of various working groups including anti-racism campaign working group for which I developed a tip sheet on the facts and myths about COVID-19 and collaboratively managed a social media campaign on Facebook and Instagram called Don’t Discriminate Manitoba (social media handle @don’tdiscriminatemb).
• Host virtual meetings and take notes.
• Volunteer to take up other roles when they come up.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I have gone through various activities; you name a fun activity…. I have attempted it (social media challenges, dance videos, dressing up to go nowhere, cooking food that I never had time to cook, sitting outside and relaxing just because there’s nowhere to go).

I would say being open-minded and thankful for the learning opportunities even in these difficult times and not always complaining have helped me a lot in these past months. As I come to the end of my studies in fulfilment of a Master’s in Development Practice-Indigenous Development, I am very grateful for growth, exposure, knowledge and opportunities that I have obtained.

Gloria at the Multiculturalism Celebration Day