New refugee ministry staff get started

There are two new friendly faces at the diocesan Refugee Ministry. Ishita Ghose and Safiyah Rochelle began their work as case managers in February, preparing to take up the torch from the ministry’s manager Joyce Couvrette when she retires in the coming months.

Following in the footsteps of Couvrette and the recently retired Don Smith, veterans of the field who guided the ministry through a time of tremendous growth during the Syrian crisis is a daunting path. 

“It’s definitely a steep learning curve for sure, but slowly but surely we’re getting there,” Rochelle told Crosstalk in an online interview, adding that she is glad that she and Ghose are working and learning together with Couvrette to mentor them.

Both case managers bring valuable education and experiences to the job. 

Ghose graduated from the University of Delhi, India, before immigrating to Canada and living in Guelph, Ont. Her first paid employment in Canada was with Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s immigrant settlement adaptation program for newcomers, which included government-assisted refugees. “And ever since I have always enjoyed working with the settlement sector,” she said. 

She also worked in Correctional Service Canada’s Ethnocultural Program Services, working with diverse clientele for integration and settlement projects.  Her experience in the charitable sector also includes working at Bracelet of Hope, Guelph – an organization committed to ending the AIDS pandemic in Lesotho, Africa. 

After moving to Ottawa about two years ago, she began working for the Ottawa Community Foundation, but when she heard about an opportunity at the Diocese’s Refugee Ministry, she thought it might be time for a shift in her career. “I haven’t been a refugee, but I have been a newcomer to Canada so it’s my way of giving back. I’ve been through the experience of getting adapted to the culture, ways of life, employment and everything else, so it makes a lot of sense to me.”

Safiyah Rochelle earned an MA and Doctorate in Legal Studies from Carleton University.  She has researched and published on the topics of state violence and marginalized populations and has taught courses in Criminal Justice and on topics pertaining to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She has also worked with the federal government as a program officer for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Rochelle says she heard much about the work of the Refugee Ministry in the course of her work over the years. “They have an amazing reputation,” she said. “Obviously, the work the ministry does is important and admirable. It’s really an opportunity to work with a community, not only in Canada, but also an international community, that’s really dedicated to some of the best qualities that we have as Canadians — helping the stranger and providing assistance and support to the people who need it most.”

She adds that she sensed that there is an opportunity for growth in the ministry. “There was this dichotomy between a small office that was just doing all that amazing community work and also the fact that there seemed to be a really big opportunity for it to grow and expand to make and even bigger mark on the community. That really appealed to me as well, to enter in at that cusp and see what would happen, where the ministry could grow and how I could contribute to that.”

Due to the pandemic and travel restrictions, the arrival of new refugees is on hold. While that is a hardship for refugees and their families, it is giving Ghose and Rochelle a chance to train and prepare for a flood of arrivals once travel is again possible.

Ghose says she is eager to get to know sponsorship and constituent groups, so that she has a good sense of their capacities and capabilities since they shoulder so much responsibility for supporting refugees once they arrive in Canada.

Rochelle said she had just had the opportunity to take an application from from inception, “which I really liked because it could be a year or two years before the family actually arrives, but I am really looking forward to getting to know the families in depth and having that personal connection.”

Both wanted to remind Crosstalk readers that they can be reached by writing to [email protected]