The Living Library Podcast Project: Recent Episodes
New Canadians Centre Peterborough
The Living Library Project aims to share human stories of immigration and integration by highlighting diverse stories of transition, settlement, and belonging. This podcast series tells the stories of newcomers living, working, and building their lives in Peterborough, Ontario. These are their stories of home, belonging, loss, hope, community, and more.
The Living Library Project is a storytelling program of the New Canadians Centre Peterborough. This radio-podcast series is produced by the New Canadians Centre in partnership with Trent Radio, and hosted by Jill Staveley of Trent Radio.
With a passion for travel and culture, Patricia took a leap of faith and moved to Canada over 10-years ago to build a new life with her Canadian partner. But she quickly found that life in Canada was not what she initially expected. She struggled to find work, battled feelings of loneliness, and soon, her marriage too became strained. Her leap of faith takes us on a journey of love, hardship, rebirth, and resilience.
When Venezuelan artist Miguel Hernandez arrived in Canada in 2014, he was afraid to speak the little English he knew because of his accent. But, walking through the doors of the New Canadians Centre, he felt like he belonged and knew Canada was his second home. After a tough immigration process, he's now built a home in Peterborough surrounded by a loving community. Armed with his superpower, he wants to tell his story, so others believe in theirs.
When Esther Izarnotegui and her family of five relocated to Peterborough in 2014 from Peru, they were quickly met with many changes to their way of life. From language and culture to weather and nature. While she laughs at those experiences now, she remembers being anxious at the time. In this episode, Esther recalls some stories of her settlement and tells us why Peterborough has become her "drop of heaven."
Arriving in Canada as a 17-year old, Ajil remembers struggling with a new language and culture. But, he also remembers the warm welcome his family received in Peterborough. It made him realise that people care and want to see him succeed and that in Canada, you can choose your road. In this episode, Ajil tells us about the road he chose and the challenges and triumphs that came with it.
Faced with moving to another country and packing up their lives into two suitcases, Rafael & Aruasy asks, "what will we truly need to continue living?" In this episode, Venezuelan husband and wife Rafael & Aruasy answer that question and take us through the experiences, challenges, and joys of their Canadian adventure.
Patrickson recalls the day he arrived in Canada for the first time during the cold of winter and the days following.
Patrickson is sharing his story through this New Canadians Centre-Trent Radio collaboration that supported six newcomers with storytelling & radio training over six weeks in Spring 2021.
As a child, Javier always heard the phrase "things happen for a reason" but never understood it. Now, the phrase has become part of him, carrying a lot of meaning. He shares why.
Javier is sharing his story through this New Canadians Centre-Trent Radio collaboration that supported six newcomers with storytelling & radio training over six weeks in Spring 2021.
Arriving in Canada in June, Charlotte and her family were confused by the weather. "What cold are people talking about?" Listen as she recalls how they navigated the seasons of Canada.
Charlotte is sharing her story through this New Canadians Centre-Trent Radio collaboration that supported six newcomers with storytelling & radio training over six weeks in Spring 2021.
Grace recalls the story of the most important flight of her life -- 17-hours to Canada and 38-weeks pregnant -- and the weeks following.
Grace is sharing her story through this New Canadians Centre-Trent Radio collaboration that supported six newcomers with storytelling & radio training over six weeks in Spring 2021.
Bhisham shares stories about what home means to him and how a ring helped him get through the first year in Canada as an international student.
Bhisham is sharing his story through this New Canadians Centre-Trent Radio collaboration that supported six newcomers with storytelling & radio training over six weeks in Spring 2021.
Adriana shares stories about her life in Brazil and her move to Canada in 2020, guided by the words "remember who you are."
Adriana is sharing her story through this New Canadians Centre-Trent Radio collaboration that supported six newcomers with storytelling & radio training over six weeks in Spring 2021.
Esther Izarnotegui shares heartwarming stories of her family's new experiences in Canada from language to weather to mental health. These experiences make it clear to her that "This Is Home."
Esther is sharing her story through this New Canadians Centre-Trent Radio collaboration that supported five newcomers with storytelling & radio training over six weeks in Winter 2021.
11-year old Jorge Escalera Arroyo recalls memories of his family's move to Canada over six years ago and making friends at school.
Jorge is sharing his story through this New Canadians Centre-Trent Radio collaboration that supported five newcomers with storytelling & radio training over six weeks in Winter 2021.
Anuj Arora tells the story of his journey to Canada and a friendship that started over a bowl of Indian soup.
Anuj is sharing his story through this New Canadians Centre-Trent Radio collaboration that supported five newcomers with storytelling & radio training over six weeks in Winter 2021.
Abhishek Udawat recalls the memory of his plane ride to Canada in 2018 and another story about identity and a common question immigrants are asked.
Abhishek is sharing his story through this New Canadians Centre-Trent Radio collaboration that supported five newcomers with storytelling & radio training over six weeks in Winter 2021.
In Winter 2021, the New Canadians Centre partnered with Trent Radio to create the Newcomer Radio Group where newcomers had the unique opportunity to gain hands-on training in storytelling and technical skills in audio production. Over six weeks, the group learned and practised new skills while supporting and encouraging each other.
The following four episodes in this special feature their work as they tell their stories of life in Canada. Each episode was recorded and edited by the participants themselves using equipment provided to them for free. Their stories were also featured on the Voices from Our Communities show on Trent Radio on Monday mornings in May.
This special was made possible through support provided by the Community Radio Foundation of Canada and facilitated by Laurel Paluck of Trent Radio.
A passion for supporting newcomers, particularly youth led Faye to a job at the New Canadians Centre right here in Peterborough and at the UNHCR in her native Malaysia. These experiences, combined with her personal immigrant story have led Faye to become a passionate and empathetic advocate for youth. In this episode, Faye sheds light on what she’s learned and how it’s changed her.
For as long as Charlotte could remember, home was always something temporary – something that could be taken away in a moment’s notice. That is until she and her family were sponsored to come to Canada in 2016. Arriving in Peterborough, her sponsor welcomes her by saying “This is your home.” Four words that have stuck with her ever since. In this episode, Charlotte tells us her story of home, community, and determination.
Being an immigrant for nearly all his life, the question of home and belonging always made Bhisham anxious. That is, until a transformative class in his third year of university sparked some new ideas for him. In this episode, Bhisham takes us through his immigrant experiences, redefining “home” and “belonging” along the way.
The creative mind of a 7-year-old immigrant girl inspires her mom to reflect on what it means to be mapped by the places you live and visit. In this episode, Magali shares stories and ideas from her experiences in a place called Branada. What has mapped you?
Getting to Canada is one thing, but what do you do once you’ve landed?
For Abeer, finding a community where she and her family felt safe and comfortable was the number one priority. In this episode, Abeer tells us how she ended up in Canada and why she’s now motivated to help others find their own community.
When Fabiola arrived in Canada, one of the first places she visited was the New Canadians Centre where the Women’s Group helped her overcome the challenges her new life presented. Today, she volunteers as the facilitator of the same group that welcomed her. In this episode, Fabiola shares how a community of women come together to support each other, and the hope that lies ahead.
Launched in September 2018, the Living Library Project was established with the goal of sharing the diverse and compelling stories of newcomers through public speaking engagements. Since then, it has grown into a multi-modal storytelling project. In this radio-podcast series, we bring you the stories of six newcomers living, working, and building their lives in Peterborough, Ontario. These are their stories of home, belonging, loss, hope, community, and more.