Commentary By Randolph Gorvie, Winnipeg, Canada. Does it really matter whether the Sierra Leonean community, a small community among a group of smaller communities in Winnipeg is seen walking and talking as a united entity in this town? Unity for what purpose? And what is the meaning of a united Sierra Leonean community? I am not attempting to provide answers to any of these questions posited here, but rather to let the reader beaver over these questions and arrive at answers (...)

Canadian Council for Refugees Media Release For Immediate Release 19 March 2008 The Canadian Council for Refugees today expressed its disappointment over Canada’s inadequate response to Iraqi refugees, as announced by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. “While we welcome the proposed increase in the number of Iraqi refugees resettled to Canada, we are shocked that this increase will be at the expense of refugees from other regions in the world,” said (...)

About the BBPA Harry Jerome Awards The first BBPA Harry Jerome Awards were held in 1983 to honour: Angella Taylor-Issajenko, Ben Johnson, Mark McKoy, Milt Ottey, Tony Sharpe and Desai Williams, the six Black Canadian athletes who excelled at the 1982 Commonwealth Games. The BBPA Harry Jerome Awards celebrate excellence in Canada’s Black community and is one of the most prestigious events in Canada. A highly valued symbol of achievement, the Harry Jerome Award is a coveted possession (...)

AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS/REFUGEES and HOUSING in GREATER VANCOUVER. Research Project Since coming to the Greater Vancouver Region are you now experiencing or have you: had problems finding suitable accommodation for you or your family for any reason? -had to live in overcrowded and/or sub-standard housing? been homeless or stayed in a shelter? experienced difficulties finding affordable accommodation? If you immigrated from a sub-Saharan African country in the last ten years, (...)

“I congratulate Vancity in Canada for providing access to microcredit loans for low income entrepreneurs and new Canadians who have challenges with access to financial services. The Vancity Microcredit Toolkit will help expand microcredit in North America and allow organizations to use microcredit to empower their clients, create livelihoods and alleviate poverty from below” - Mohammed Yunus Nobel Prize Winner Vancity is proud to announce that Professor Muhammad Yunus, (...)

Many Sierra Leoneans living in Canada do not know that their adopted country has a consul in Sierra Leone. We at the Vanguard did not know either until recently. So we contacted the charming lady who is doing this great work in Freetown on behalf of the Canadian government. Here she is: Patriotic Vanguard: Please tell us a bit about yourself. Frances Fortune: I was born in Burlington, Ontario, many moons ago now. I attended Lawrie Smith Primary School which has now been bulldozed for (...)

By Lans Omar, Winnipeg. The Palomino Club strongly looks like the best place to go for all Sierra Leoneans and other nationals in Winnipeg, Canada, on Saturday February 23rd, 2008 as the Golden Conclave hosts their first annual steak party in the city. From Pembina to Regent, Downtown Winnipeg to St. James, the word is all over the place. "I just can’t miss it," Farida Kamara who is visiting from Calgary city, Canada, told me in a brief conversation. "I heard you guys are doing (...)

Africans living in Canada face a lot of problems like immigrants all over the world.Some have been able to overcome those problems and lead a very happy and prosperous life. Others find it extremely difficult, if not impossible to do so. One of these problems is racial profiling. Our sister publication, Afri-Can magazine, recently talked about racial profiling and other issues with Stanford Amofa Mensah(photo),who emigrated from Ghana 22 years ago. Here is Stanford: Afri-Can Magazine: (...)

As Abbotsford grows as a city, so does its diverse community. Residents of the city feel that the time has come for a formal recognition of Black History Month, to celebrate the culture and accomplishments of the Black/African/Caribbean/Canadian community at present and throughout history. It is part of a collective effort to bring awareness to the positive historical contributions of people of African descent. This event is brought to you by the Social, Cultural, & Media Studies (...)

Centre of Integration for African Immigrants /CIAI Centre d’Intégration pour Immigrants Africains /CIIA 640 Clarkson Street, New Westminster, BC, V3M 1C8 Tel.: 604 759 0240 Fax: 604 759 9202 email: info@ciia-ciai.com www.ciia-ciai.com The month of February has been declared, nationally, Black History Month. In recognition of this, the Centre of Integration for African Immigrants (CIIA-CIAI) will be hosting a Black History Market & Cultural Showcase on Saturday, (...)