The growing Bhutanese community on P.E.I. sees the prospect of prosperity and happiness on the Island.
Madan Giri recalls his life on Prince Edward Island beginning with a distinct shiver when he arrived on Dec. 29, 2006 after spending 15 years in a refugee camp in the South Asian state of Nepal.
"It was terrible cold,'' said Giri of stepping off the plane into the harsh, crisp air whipping around the Charlottetown Airport on a bitterly ripe winter day in the province.
However, the welcome received by Giri, his parents and his four siblings was one of a warm, comfortable embrace.
The family of seven was taken under the caring wing of the St. Francis of Assisi Church that sponsored the Bhutanese refugees to come live in P.E.I.
A church member was always at the ready to assist one or more of the refugees whether that help was tagging along on an outing to buy groceries or providing transportation to the doctor.
"We didn't feel lonely because we were sponsored by the church,'' said Giri.
Today, he is hopeful of seeing the expanding Bhutanese community in P.E.I. continue to grow towards full self-sufficiency, to speak English effortlessly, attain gainful employment and fit snugly into the province's cultural mosaic.
"We would like to give something to the Island - to help the needy people, like we were helped,'' said Giri.
"We would like to be a productive citizen of this nation.''
Craig Mackie, executive director of the P.E.I. Association for Newcomers to Canada (PEIANC), says three components are key to success for newcomers like the 80 or so Bhutanese that have arrived on the Island over the past four years.
Proficiency in English is a pivotal starting point. Getting a job or opening a business is another key step. Social inclusion outside their own Bhutanese community is also key for people like Giri thriving in P.E.I., Mackie concludes.
Giri and his siblings are promising indicators that a brighter future awaits many of the more than 100,000 ethnic Nepalese - a Hindu minority in Bhutan for centuries that was forced out of Bhutan in the early 1990s by authorities who wanted to impose the country's dominant Buddhist culture.
They have lived as refugees ever since in one of seven United Nations-run camps in Nepal about 500 kilometres east of the capital Kathmandu.
While Giri's family came to P.E.I. through sponsorship by St. Francis of Assisi, another 70 or so Bhutanese have arrived since 2009, including 18 landing in Charlottetown this year on July 27, through a federal government resettlement program.
Giri, who spent 15 years in a refugee camp in Nepal, says his life is better since coming to Canada and holds the prospect of even greater prosperity ahead.While there was enough food to go around in the camp, medical care was lacking, resulting in the death of many people. Fortunately, none of Giri's family members perished.
Giri left the camp long enough to earn a bachelor of degree in mathematics, then returned to teach high school students in the refugee camp.
He has been working as a commissionaire in the Shaw Building in Charlottetown for the past three years but is willing to do whatever it takes to one day teach on P.E.I.
"I'm a trained teacher (but) my certificate is not recognized here,'' he said.
His eldest sister, Deo, has been working at a fast food restaurant for two years. His other sisters - Tika and Sarada - both plan to take the nursing program at UPEI.
His parents, meanwhile, continue to struggle to learn English at Holland College.
Giri's father, Kul, used to be a scrap dealer in Bhutan and later became a carpenter - a trade he hopes to eventually practice again in Prince Edward Island.
"I believe we are doing progress,'' said Giri.
"We are trying to be self-sufficient.''
He says under Hindu religion, his parents will wait until Giri is truly self-sufficient before picking for him his mate for life.
"To fall in love and get a girlfriend, we don't do that kind of stuff,'' he said.
Also, as a Hindu, Giri prays in a temple, not a church. However, while there was a temple in the refugee camp in Nepal, the Bhutanese community will need to grow and prosper before they can build a temple of their own here.
On rare occasion - once or twice a year - Giri has gathered with his fellow Hindu followers in a building they rent to serve as a temporary temple.
While he holds on to his Hindu faith, Giri welcomes exposure to a Canadian culture he describes as being far more open than that of Bhutan.
In Nepal, for instance, Giri could not talk to a man's wife without that man's permission.
"Everybody is friendly (in P.E.I.),'' he said.
"Everybody says hello.''
Melissa Coffin, a Canadian Life Skills Settlement worker with the PEIANC, appreciates how well the Bhutanese have adopted to Canadian culture while still holding on to their own. She also lauds their ability to pull together to overcome barriers."They are very resilient,'' said Coffin."A challenge doesn't stay a challenge very long for them.''
Chandra Chhetri, 19, is thrilled with the dramatic change from living in a refugee camp, where she has spent most of her life, to settling into an apartment in Charlottetown in 2009 with her mother and her brother.
Islanders, she enthuses, have treated her family so well.
"It's everything I like in P.E.I.,'' she said. "Everyone is so helpful.''
Tek Bahadur Basnet was among the 18-strong Bhutanese family that arrived at the Charlottetown Airport in late July. He and his wife and the couple's two children are still living in a motel trying to secure an apartment with the knowledge Ottawa will pay for the family's living expenses as well as English classes in their first year here.The P.E.I. Association for Newcomers to Canada will help in finding accomodation, get the documentation they need and to adjust to the many new things they will encounter in Canada.
For Basnet's family, the assistance is clearly seen as a hand up, not a hand out.Being a refugee in a camp, Basnet thought he could do little to improve the fortunes of his family. Here, he sees great possibilities.
He hopes to one day teach on P.E.I. as he did in the camp. If not, he will simply find something else.
"Our life will become better,'' he pledged.
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