WE Belong Podcast

Keziah studied nursing back home in Ghana, and hoped to use her skills and experience to practice nursing here in Windsor-- but found that the process to become a registered nurse in Ontario was more complicated than expected. Thankfully, she had support from CARE Centre for Internationally Educated Nurses to help her navigate the system. Mary Strong, a Case Manager for CARE joins us to tell us more about their programs and services. Visit www.care4nurses.org to learn more.

Irek and his family came to Canada as political refugees from Poland when he was 5 years old. Since then, he has served his community and country as Windsor City Councillor and Member of Parliament, and currently oversees the TeaMWork Project which supports Temporary Foreign Workers.

Kelsey Santarossa, Director of Community and Workforce Development at Workforce WindsorEssex, discusses the intersection of immigration and workforce development in the region while reflecting on the ongoing work to develop a community and labour market plan, as well as the stories shared over the first ten episodes of Season 2 of the WE Belong Podcast.

Liena et Beraka sont venues au Canada du Burundi afin de commencer de nouvelles vies, et elles poursuivent leurs études à l’école secondaire catholique Sainte-Trinité, qui fait part du CSC Providence. 

In Brazil, Dani started running pop-up markets as a passion project to do outside of her day job. Now she's brought her passion to Windsor through the Pop Yard, which has been giving opportunities to other newcomer creators to share and sell their work.

Niku, an artist from Iran, came to Windsor originally as an international student. By connecting with the local arts community-- and supported by the Arts Council Windsor & Region's Creatives at Work Artist Residency Program -- she was able to find belonging in this city she now calls home.

Jolyan spent his first ten years in his home country Iraq, before spending another ten years as a refugee in Turkey. Now he's starting a new life in Canada, and is finding his place here in Windsor with the support of St Michael's Adult Catholic High School. Doug Sadler, the principal at St. Mike's, joins to tell us more about the school.

Ayah Karra-Aly, Planning and Community Engagement Officer for the French Language Health Planning Centre, discusses the importance of -- and the ongoing work to improve -- the availability of french-language health services in Windsor-Essex. This episode is also available in french (previous episode). Cette épisode est également disponible en français (épisode précédente).

Ayah Karra-Aly, Agente de plannification et d'engagement communautaire pour le Centre de planification des services de santé en français (CPSSF) discute de l’importance — et du travail en cours pour améliorer — la disponibilité des services de santé en français à Windsor-Essex. Une version anglaise de cette épisode est disponible aussi (prochaine). An english version of this episode is also available (next episode).

Surria's pita chip company Cedar Valley, which she co-founded with her son, started as a small business idea born from a school project and has grown to be a nationwide success. But that success hasn't distracted her from her passion for supporting the community and providing job opportunities to newcomers.

Ana (from Iran) and Meghana (from India) share their experiences as international students getting their Masters of Engineering from the University of Windsor, where the Empowr program helped prepare them for the workforce. Victoria Abboud joins to talk about the Empowr program, which she initiated.

Bouthaina, originally from Syria, was inspired to start her small business while participating in a program at UHC Hub of Opportunities, where Kimberly, originally from Minnesota, works as a crisis counselor and orientation worker. In this episode, both women share their inspiring stories and highlight the work of UHC.

This episode is entirely in french. Yasmine est arrivée à Windsor il y a vingt ans et, après avoir découvert les défis auxquels font face les Franco-Ontariens, elle est devenue une véritable championne de la communauté francophone locale — un engagement qu’elle poursuit encore aujourd’hui à travers son travail au CCFWEK et à l’ACFO WECK (entre autres).

Growing up in Zambia, Anold was persecuted for their sexuality. Their experiences led them to working with the United Nations and Amnesty International on 2SLGBTQIA+ activism before coming to Windsor, where they founded an organization dedicated to supporting queer & trans migrants.

Welcome back to the WE Belong Podcast! This season, we'll meet newcomers and long-settled immigrants from all over the world and hear their stories. We'll also be learning about all the local organizations who are here to support them and learn some welcoming strategies. New episodes every Wednesday starting November 13, 2025!

When civil war broke out in Moussa's home country of Ivory Coast, he and his family escaped through the bush across the border to Guinea, where he spent another 14 years in a refugee camp before being brought to Windsor as a Government Assisted Refugee. Once here, the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County's Resettlement Assistance Program helped him get settled and follow his dreams.

Originally from Palestine, Riham moved to Canada with her family in 2001 when she was a teenager. She shares how her experiences with racism following 9/11 inspired her to embrace her identity and how she supports her community through her work at the University of Windsor, her private therapy practice, and her role as WE LIP Vice Chair.

Emily came to Windsor from Lima, Peru as an international student during the pandemic. She shares her experience of choosing Windsor, arriving here, obtaining her Post-Graduate Work Permit, and why she stayed in the region.

Kelsey Santarossa, Director of Community and Workforce Development at Workforce WindsorEssex, discusses the intersection of immigration and workforce development in the region while reflecting on the stories shared over the first ten episodes of the WE Belong podcast.

As a young woman in Afghanistan, Kainat was not allowed to work or go to school. Since coming to Canada with her family in search of safety and opportunity, she has been able to start her education, pursue her dreams, and become a leader for other newcomer youth with the help of the New Canadians' Centre of Excellence's Youth Resource Centre (YRC).

This episode is entirely in french. Bafoe est arrivé à Windsor en 2019 et, grâce au soutien du Collège Boréal, il s'est découvert une nouvelle carrière inattendue.

Amidst a divorce, Blanca came to Canada from Mexico and was left separated from her kids and with no permanent housing when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Deciding to try her luck in Leamington, she came across South Essex Community Council who helped her get back on her feet.

Karyna shares her story of escaping Ukraine to find a new home in Windsor, how she's already picking up some Canadian habits, and and how she has found solace in helping others at a local organization her helped her, Windsor Women Working With Immigrant Women (W5).

Iryna left everything behind when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and made her way to Windsor. She found support at UHC Hub of Opportunities and their Ready to Work program.

Nedaa is an educated professional from Palestine who, upon moving to Windsor, had to restart from scratch. Thankfully, she discovered peers and programs that could support her at Women's Enterprise Skills Training, or WEST.

Abdulfetah is a settlement worker and former client at the YMCA of Southwestern Ontario. He shares his experiences of arriving in Windsor as a refugee and how he uses his experience to help others.

Fitsum arrived in Canada only a few months ago as a refugee, and like many newcomers to the region, one of her first stops was at the Greater Essex County District School Board's Language Assessment and Resource Centre.

To celebrate the Semaine Nationale de l'Immigration Francophone (National Francophone Immigration Week), this episode is entirely in french!   Dans cet épisode, on entrevue Muhiadian Osman, un jeune francophone originaire de Djibouti, et Marie Eve P. Stroesser du Centre d'Ado au Centre Communautaire Francophone Windsor-Essex-Kent (CCFWEK).

In this introductory episode, we sit down with Ronnie Haidar, the Chair of the Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership (WE LIP) to talk about our history, role in the community, and ongoing work to make Windsor-Essex a welcoming community.

What is the WE Belong Podcast?