In June of 1997, Pamini arrived in Canada from Sri Lanka, giving birth to her second child in August. She remembers, “I was teaching in a convent [in Sri Lanka], and I really wanted to continue my work with kids here. When I moved here, my sister said you have to change your career, maybe apply to a bank, but that’s not my cup of tea. I have to work with children.”

Pamini found an article about early childhood education and found her way to Century College, where she was referred to Kathy Price, the Early Childhood Coordinator at PIRS. She proceeded to join PIRS as a volunteer, beginning her journey.

“I was very happy, because I learned a lot of new things and because I was a teacher. I’m so glad PIRS gave me a platform to exhibit and to showcase my talents and to learn new things and new skills, like how to be a preschool teacher in Canada.”

With her evident skills and passion, Pamini was hired as an assistant at PIRS and quickly became a supervisor, working for PIRS for the next seven years. She also participated in our Building Bridges program and formally became an Early Childhood Educator.

“It gave me a very strong foundation. It built my personality,” she says, as she now owns her own business, ABC Montessori, as a Montessori teacher. “I was able to pursue so many things, and I’m able to stand on my own feet because of what I gained from PIRS, the first foundation that I got. It helped me to be a strong woman, and I’m now helping other new immigrant women. I’m working with Kiwassa Neighborhood House…I’m doing empowerment programs, so that I am able to help other immigrant women, like how PIRS gave me my platform.”

When Pamini reflects back on the journey to reach where she is today, she tells us, “To be a new immigrant, honestly, I didn’t know what to do. I was lost. The culture shock. No friends, I had to leave everything behind, even though I had a very good life in Sri Lanka.”

“I didn’t drive at the time. My son was four years old, and my baby, my daughter, was two months old. Sometimes, I used to cry on the road to work, because I cannot breastfeed her. I was looking after other kids and leaving my child behind. I could have easily stayed at home, with my daughter, but I wanted to learn.

I had to take two buses to volunteer and then run and pick my son up from the elementary school. He would finish at 11:30, and then I’d run home to feed my baby. So it was such a difficult task. I wanted to do so many things, so that gave me strength, and the women I met at PIRS were like my sisters. They cared for each and every woman who was in that family. When I was at PIRS, I was so happy. And when I was doing something for other immigrant women, it made me so happy.”

Pamini is now proud to support other immigrant women, to pursue her passion in early childhood education, and to be the mother of two children who are now 24 and 29 and both thriving in the medical field.

She reflects on the importance of volunteering as a first step for newcomers to learn the Canadian context, “If I didn’t get that opportunity to volunteer at PIRS, I wouldn’t have been able to pursue my career as an Early Childhood Educator. I have worked with 20 kids as one teacher back home, but here it’s different. I gained the opportunity to learn how to do circle time, snack time, arts and crafts. When you learn those things and then when you integrate everything, it becomes a wonderful thing. I tell the women I work with now, ‘First crawl, then walk, then fly.’”

This Mother’s Day, celebrate the mothers in our community by supporting immigrant mothers building new lives for themselves and their children in Canada. To donate, click here.