Five new workers join Eastman Immigrant Services

Five new workers have joined Eastman Immigrant Services (EIS) providing care to immigrants and their families.

Olesja Schwabauer is the program director at EIS and it’s her job to oversee all programming and grant applications. She has held this role since July 2024 and so far she is enjoying it.

“So far so amazing. We have a great team,” she said. “Everyone is having the same goal helping newcomers and seeing them succeed in our area. I really really love working here and I hope that people stick around and be with us and we can build that strong office that helps people in each area. And I really hope that we can grow also and add more people and add more programs.”

Olesja is from northern Bavaria in Germany. She came to Canada 17 years ago settling in Winkler. She began working with immigrants in Germany and continued that work here in Canada. She moved to Steinbach two years ago as her daughter was going to university and she wanted to be closer to Winnipeg.

“I really like the people and that everything is available. Even if it’s not, if you need anything, Winnipeg is close to it and surrounded by beautiful small towns and nature. You have St Malo right here. People and location – everything in one,” she said.

She said EIS employment services is open to everyone not just newcomers but Canadian citizens as well. She said EIS is looking at having welcome evenings every month at Pat Porter Active Living Centre and encourages everyone to come. Dates to be announced.

Sviatoslav Baliuiev is EIS’ eastern region immigration partnership coordinator. It’s his job to build partnerships in the eastern region to improve health services for immigrants, improved settlement services, and employment services.

Originally from Lviv in western Ukraine, Baliuiev came to Canada in November 2022 during the Ukrainian war with Russia. He arrived in Winnipeg and began looking for a smaller city for his family as he felt a smaller city would provide a better life for his children. He settled on Steinbach because it’s close to Winnipeg, is pretty modern with schools, services, and a hospital.

In Ukraine, Baliuiev was a lawyer for 13 years working for the government on city council.

He said he uses his skills as a lawyer to make connections with people as he is a skilled orator. He noted he is honest and that he tries to help people whenever possible.

“I tried to build strong social connections because for our community it’s very important to build this connections not just between immigrants but all types of businesses and different types of government positions,” he said.

“You’re supposed to think about the future because if any newcomers can feel at home they can better integrate for our community and together we can build our communities and cities and Canada as well.”

As an immigrant, Baliuiev understands the hardships that come with being a newcomer to Canada such as adapting to the weather, learning the language, finding affordable housing, finding employment, and finding transportation.

As an employment facilitator, Keitel Hermoso helps newcomers who are legally authorized to work in Canada find employment within Steinbach. She helps on average 10 to 15 people a week find work.

While most immigrants want to work in their field, she said most are willing to take entry level jobs in administration roles, customer service, agriculture, sales, or retail to gain experience.

“I think they have realistic expectations. They’re trying to adapt. English is also a factor. Some of the work requires English to be intermediate or advanced, but they need to put in the effort,” she said.

Hermoso is originally from Manila, Philippines, where she worked as a software quality assurance analyst. She moved to Canada in 2013 with her husband and was hired to work for EIS in February after her IT job was lost due to the closure of her employer’s Winnipeg office.

She said she likes living in Steinbach because it’s peaceful with friendly neighbours and there is no congestion as there is in Winnipeg.

What Hermoso wants people to know about hiring an immigrant is that they are willing to put in the work. Also, they’re flexible, adapting to any circumstance, are very open, and eager to learn.

“They have all those education and work experience that are required. Hopefully the local employers are able to see that and put value on that as well and not just the Canadian work experience.”

Bijan Babaie is a former doctor having practiced medicine in Tehran, Iran, for 26 years before he moved to Canada with his family for a better life.

“We choose Canada to live in freedom and for this reason we came to Canada. And after we came to Canada, we know our choice was correct. In this country you can be free with respect to others, all the people are the same, and all of them are the same. I’m happy in our choosing,” he said.

Babaie is currently EIS’ volunteer and integration coordinator having acquired the job a month ago. In his role, he organizes EIS’ 222 volunteers for events.

“When immigrants come to new country, new culture, everything is new, maybe something is strange for them especially the first months or first years. In this time, some people that have this experience (as a volunteer it) can be very useful for them…,” he said.

He said while it’s hard for immigrants to get a job in their field, he feels things are changing day to day and that politicians will make it easier for immigrants to find work in their fields. Babaie hopes to one day take his Canadian medical training and exams and have his own practice.

Tiffany Froese is a Southeastern native having grown up in Landmark. She just started her job as a settlement worker in schools a couple of weeks ago and so far enjoys her new position.

In her role, she helps newcomer students get registered for school by helping them fill out documents and connecting with school resources. She also does school visits to check on the students and plan programs to help them integrate into school life.

“There’s lots of barriers that both the student and the parent face such as language or socio-cultural differences. As well, there’s a variation in education systems between here and other countries so there are definitely a number of obstacles that they face when they come here at first. And (our) goal is to help students and families minimize those barriers by being a mediator between the families and the school as they get into the system here,” she said.

Froese said it can take anywhere from a few months to a couple of years for students to feel integrated and comfortable with their peers. She sees about 20 students a month.

Froese has experience working in schools having been an English teacher in the Dominican Republic for four years. It was there she met her husband and moved back home in 2016 when she started her family and taught English and Spanish later becoming an EA in the Hanover School Division.

Aside from language, Froese said one of the hardest things about settling in for kids is “finding the confidence to find your place among the programs, the social group.”

“When you’re feeling out of place it’s easy to take a back seat and just let the days pass you by. Helping kids to find ways to connect with programs and with their peers so that they don’t feel like they are left on the outside of these social groups is definitely a challenge, but one we can help them work through and conquer as well.”