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New Pioneers Awards - 1999 |
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Award Winners |
Patrick Parson (Arts)
 Patrick
Parson immigrated to Canada from Trinidad in 1988, bringing with him rich
cultural traditions in dance and music of the Caribbean. Shortly after his
arrival he applied for a partial scholarship to the Toronto Dance Theatre
School and studied management at Ryerson University.
In 1990, noting a lack of African and Caribbean professional arts in
Toronto he founded Ballet Creole. Two years later, the company established
itself as a major Canadian company with performances at the nationally
renowned Premiere Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre. Since 1994, Ballet
Creole has presented its annual dance season at Harbourfront's du Maurier
and Premiere Dance Theatres in Toronto. The company performs regularly in
many of the major cities and festivals in Canada and, in 1993 expanded its
touring to the northern United States. They recently performed at the
Healing Through the Arts Festival in Denver, where they shared the stage
with such acclaimed dance companies as Dance Theatre of Harlem and Dallas
Black Dance Theatre.
Patrick is presently Artistic Director, principal choreographer and
Musical Director of the Creole Musical Ensemble, which is part of the
performing company and is pursuing a masters degree in Dance Ethnology at
York University. Each year Ballet Creole visits schools throughout Ontario
to promote dance as an art form to youth. Performances invariably
encourage lessons in racial harmony through promotion of multicultural
understanding. Patrick actively volunteers in the arts community and
serves as a cultural advisor and committee member with the Toronto and
Ontario Arts Councils, Metro Cultural Affairs, Harbourfront Centre and the
Laidlaw Foundation. He is currently a course director teaching dance in
the Department of Physical and Health Education at the University of
Toronto and teaches dance at York University.
Ceta Ramkhalawansingh (Community Service)
 Ceta
Ramkhalawansingh and her family arrived in Canada from Trinidad in 1967.
While studying political science and economics at the University of
Toronto, she participated on the Student’s Administrative Council and the
lobby to establish the Women’s Studies Program. She went on to become a
lecturer in the program and now continues to serve on the program advisory
board. For more than 20 years she has worked with the LEARNXS Foundation,
an organization dedicated to encouraging innovation in education. This
includes development of the Young Ambassadors of Toronto program to help
youth create their own international travel and learning expeditions.
Raised to believe that she could do anything she set her mind to, Ceta’s
community service started in her third year at University, when bull
dozers threatened to raze her neighbourhood in The Grange. Ceta, together
with a group of concerned citizens, was successful in negotiating with
developers to protect residential housing in the downtown core, where she
still lives today.
Ceta believes her most important role is her work with MATCH
International, an organization which raises funds to finance women’s
projects overseas.
She is on the board of the YWCA of Toronto, the Arts Foundation of Greater
Toronto, and serves as the Canadian delegate to the Commonwealth Women’s
Network Steering Committee.
As the Equal Opportunity Manager with the City of Toronto, Ceta was
instrumental in developing employment equity guidelines for all
organizations and companies doing business with the city. Ceta is
currently the Interim Manager of Access and Equity for the City of
Toronto.
Manoucher Etminan (Entrepreneurship)
 Manoucher
Etminan, a successful businessman in his native Iran, moved to England in
the late 1970s due to the political uncertainty in his native country. He
immigrated to Canada in 1983 at the age of 31. Following a series of low
paying, survival jobs, Manoucher’s entrepreneurial spirit and creativity
led him to develop a vegetable condiment based on a Persian recipe. He
cooked Torshi in his home and marketed it to upscale grocery outlets by
providing samples to shoppers. Soon he was supplying 1,000 jars to
high-end grocery stores each month. To expand his business, he began
distributing bread similar to that sold in Iran and sold it to his
established high-end clientele.
With assistance from a wealthy Iranian living in Toronto, he negotiated a
small bank business loan. He purchased a commercial oven and mixer but
found his initial attempts at making bread did not compare to the products
he remembered in Iran. To identify the problem, he analyzed each step in
the bread making process. He credits this analytical approach to
problem-solving for his success.
In the early years he employed three people and supplied his local
customers with fresh bread daily and supplied frozen bread to his European
customers. As his business grew internationally, Manoucher concentrated on
frozen breads. He has been credited in England with helping to change
existing government regulations to permit different sizes and weights of
breads to be sold in stores – creating an expanded market for premium
breads.
Today his company, Manoucher Food & Co., is renowned for its hand-made,
unique breads. It currently offers 16 different gourmet breads
internationally, and specialty breads for clients. His clients include
Holt Renfrew, Loblaws and Fortnum & Mason in London, to name a few.
He employs over 50 people from Iran, India, Sri Lanka, Spain, West Indies
and other countries. Manoucher welcomes the opportunity to partner with
Skills for Change to source new employees.
Ramon Pacheco (SfC Graduate)
 Ramon
Pacheco, his wife and three small children left strife torn El Salvador
for Canada in 1992. A writer of poetry and fiction and an accountant by
profession, his resolve and determination were evident long before he
arrived here. He became caregiver for his family when his wife was
diagnosed with a serious illness shortly after the birth of twins and
continued to work to support them.
When they arrived as refugees in Canada Ramon worked diligently to learn a
new language, find a home for his family and support his family’s
adjustment to their new life.
In 1994, while working nights as a cleaner, he attended Skills
for Change and found the support he needed through one of the agency’s
first programs to serve the unique needs of foreign-trained professionals.
Upon graduating with training in accounting software, Ramon found a job as
a bookkeeper with an architectural firm and stayed there for two years. He
currently works as a Store Administrator for Shoppers Drug Mart.
As one who advises new Canadians to "never quit", Ramon continues to work
towards his designation as a Certified General Accountant. He has studied
at Centennial College and The Computer Technology Institute.
Ramon was a volunteer for fundraising initiatives with Skills for Change
and he continues to volunteer in the community by writing stories for
Spanish-language publications.
Maral Nadjafi (Youth)
 Maral
Nadjafi, her mother and younger brother arrived in Canada from Iran in
October 1995. Their grueling three month journey to Canada included
crossing over the Turkish border on mules and travelling through France
and Spain.
Although they had relatives in Canada, Maral and her family faced both
economic and emotional challenges in their new country. They also missed
the love and support of her father who remained in Iran.
Her lack of English and immersion in a vastly different culture was
bewildering to the 15 year old. To meet the challenges of her new life,
she focused on learning English, studying text books by referencing a
translation dictionary at the same time, and involved herself in school
activities. At Midland Avenue Collegiate Institute she was part of the
development of the English as a Second Language (ESL) Leadership program.
This program assists students, particularly newcomers to Canada, learn
about and adapt to the school environment. She was a member of the soccer
and badminton teams and, although only in Grade 10, became a member of
Midland’s senior math team where she received the math proficiency award
for Grade 11 and 12. While still in Grade 11, Maral also received the
Warner Lambert award for OAC calculus.
Maral enjoys her exposure to new cultures and through her school, York
Mills Collegiate Institute, continues to involve herself in multicultural
projects. She is part of the layout team for Mosaic, a magazine of art,
poetry and writing representing the many cultures of the student body and
the Peer tutoring program. As a member of the "buddy club" she continues
to help ESL students adapt to the school environment. She is also vice
president of the International Issues Club, responsible for multicultural
events in the school, and participates in several fundraising projects,
including the United Way and Red Cross.
In addition to her part time job after school, she volunteers at the Iran
Star Weekly newspaper and is currently a volunteer at Bloorview MacMillan
Centre helping disabled children.
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Sponsors |
Lead
Sponsor
CIBC
Arts Award Sponsor
du Maurier Arts
Community Service Award Sponsor
The New Ontario Trillium Foundation
Entrepreneurship Award Sponsor
CIBC
Skills for Change Graduate Award Sponsor
Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario
Youth Award Sponsor
The Maytree Foundation
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New
Pioneers Home Page
Contact Us
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416 658-3101 ext. 214
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npa@skillsforchange.org
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Last updated
12/24/2007 |
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