Maricone Siayngco was scared to drive when she immigrated to Canada from the Philippines in 2015.
Siayngco, 41, discusses her fear of driving in the photovoice exhibition Making a Life in Central Alberta: Voices of Immigrant Women at Red Deer College.
The exhibition had multiple immigrant women submit a photo that describes a challenge they had when moving to Canadian culture.
“I didn’t drive at all in the Phillipines,” Siayngco said. “My husband told me there’s no way to come here and not drive. It’s a necessity here.”
Siayngco’s husband has lived in Central Alberta since 2011, but she and their two children only joined him a few years ago.
Her husband already knowing the area made Siayngco’s adjustment relatively easy, but some things, like driving, were still a challenge.
“When I first arrived I was very nervous when driving, but for the past couple months I haven’t been. I think I can do it,” she said.
Siayngco, who will test for her full driver’s licence in a month, said she was honoured to share her challenge alongside other immigrant women.
“I feel very privileged to be one of the voices so people can learn the challenges and not just the pleasures of living in Canada.
“It feels good to share my story so other people can be inspired. Things can be challenging, but hold on and hang in there,” she said.
All photos and participant interviews were completed between 2016 and 2017 for the exhibition.
The exhibition is a part of the three-year research program Making Life Easier: A Participatory Assessment of Services for Immigrant Women in Central Alberta.
Dr. Choon-Lee Chai, a RDC sociology instructor who led the project with Dr. Krista Robson, said the goal of the project is to improve services for immigrant women.
Chai said the exhibition was a great success.
“We allowed the immigrant women to have the control over the research,” he said. “We give them the camera, they take the picture … and they decide what stories they want to tell.”
RDC partnered with the Central Alberta Immigrant Women’s Association (CAIWA) for the project.
Halima Ali, CAIWA executive director, said the exhibition is very important.
“The immigrant women are taking over and using their voices, saying their stories and making their voice heard,” she said.
Immigrant women need assistance dealing with their challenges, Ali added.
“We know our responsibility and we know we are there to do whatever we can do to support them. Even we don’t have a drop of the needs they have because they need a lot,” she said.
The project was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
A reception for the exhibition was held in the RDC library Friday afternoon.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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