Baljit Sethi has been in Canada for nearly 45 years. She was awarded the Order of British Columbia by Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point on Oct. 3, 2011, at Government House in Victoria.
The Order of B.C. is described as "the highest honour amongst all others conferred by the British Columbia Crown."
There is so much to say about Baljit and her many accomplishments but since this is a column and not a book I will try to tell her story as briefly as possible.
Baljit was born in 1933 in Lahore, India, the capital of the province of Punjab (which is now part of Pakistan). Her father was a police inspector, a job that caused him to travel frequently and for long periods of time. Her mother believed that education was important and especially for women so they sent Baljit to a private Catholic residential boarding school developed by the British.
The school offered bible study classes and emphasized Catholic values and healthy social relationships. When she entered Grade 3, she began to learn English and excelled in all her studies. Her first language was Urdu, the official state language of India, which is spoken by more than 100 million people in Pakistan and India.
Baljit was full of smiles when she talked about her father. She said, "My father was tall and handsome and I always admired him in his uniform. He taught me to be strong and independent and to become a well-educated person. I loved looking at him in his uniform with all the special stars and other decorations that I didn't always know the meaning of. My dad was always respectful to my mom and I was determined that I wanted to marry a man in a uniform that was just like him."
Baljit finished her schooling and was teaching Indian language and literature at a community college associated with a Punjab university. She had students who were from Prince George who invited her to visit their city. Baljit said, "They told wonderful stories about their township, the mountains and how it was not crowded. I was attracted and came here for a visit; I immigrated to Canada in 1972. According to the laws I was not qualified to teach in British Columbia, so I went to Toronto where it was a bit easier for immigrants. I worked hard and three months later I was certified in my profession. I moved to Vancouver for awhile and eventually - and as planned - I moved back to Prince George. That was nearly 45 years ago and I have been here ever since."
In 1974, Baljit went back to school, was certified in family counselling and began working with the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia as a family counsellor and then as a settlement counsellor assisting newcomers to Canada.
In 1976 she founded and became the executive director of the Immigrants Services Society of Prince George, now known as the Immigrant & Multicultural Services Society (IMSS) which provides services to all communities in northern B.C.
Baljit appeared in a 2016 special edition of Maclean's Magazine called Canada's Stories where she was invited to talk about her work in welcoming immigrants to Canada, as well as her own personal experience as an immigrant. She also appeared once again in Maclean's magazine in 1980 in a report on how the "boat people" from Asia were adjusting to life in Canada.
Through her work with IMSS, Baljit encouraged interaction of immigrants with their host community and promoted multiculturalism in Prince George. Many of her original programs and anti-racism projects that she personally designed are still being delivered today. She is a tireless advocate for immigrant women and she has dedicated herself to providing care and help to immigrants and women's equality.
Over the years, Baljit has been active in her community and has served as a member on the Mayor's Special Committee on Seniors, president and member of the Learning Disability Association, a member of the Premier's Committee on Living and Working in B.C., a member of the Visible Minority Labour Board provincially and federally, a member of the Western Canada Settlement Agency Association and has served on many other boards, too numerous to itemize.
She holds a bachelor of education degree, a masters in Punjabi literature, a masters in fine arts and civilization and a certificate in family counselling from Vancouver Community College. She also holds certificates in management of non-profit and diversity training from Simon Fraser University.
Baljit's awards over the years are many. To name a few, she is the recipient of the B.C. Community Achievement Award, the Governor General's Award to mark the 125th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada and the Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism, an award that pays tribute to people in Canada who have contributed to multiculturalism and the integration of new Canadians.
She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian government for her volunteer work with immigrants, an award that honours an individual who has demonstrated ongoing dedication to promoting a strong, peaceful and united Canada over a period of at least ten years.
She received the Prince George Community Foundation Citizen of the Year Award in 2006.
Over the years, Baljit received many recognition awards and certificates of appreciation that exemplified her many years of dedicated service to IMSS. She was part of the committee that helped write the Multiculturalism Act that came into effect in 1994.
Baljit always had input and carefully guided the direction that IMSS went constantly making sure that all immigrants were included equally in her programs.
She always ensured the working and functioning of the IMSS to be above board and the maintenance and managing of accounts to be transparent which was periodically audited by both provincial and federal auditors and the society auditors and found to be in proper order.
Baljit said, "It is nice that you want to make note of all my accomplishments over these past many years. For me it wasn't about all of those things. My work for others was inspired by my own personal experiences as an immigrant. When the people I helped started to call me 'mom' then I knew I had it right. They wanted to call me mom because they said only a mom would look after them like I did. Many of these people had to leave their family networks and their culture to come to Canada. This is exactly what happened to me.
"It didn't take long and I felt like an outsider when it came to my family back home. Yes, I made many new friends here but that is simply not the same as the feeling of still belonging to your family unit that you left behind. If immigrants do not over come this feeling of loneliness they lose faith and fall into isolation.
"Simple things like going shopping, finances, building a social life, education, transportation and the English language, just to name a few, can be difficult for immigrants without some help to get them on the road to becoming productive citizens. It was my mandate from day one to address all those issues and more.
"Today it is much easier for people to enrol in settlement programs and ask for assistance. Those types of programs help immigrants to see that there is a place for them in our community. I personally knew what every one of them felt like because I had to overcome those very same feelings."
Baljit concluded by saying, "I feel very lucky that God gave me the opportunity to help other immigrants. When they cry I understand immediately because my heart and my life was always dedicated to helping them through my programs at IMSS. I am their Canadian mom - what a compliment.
"Life in Canada is good. Canada is a friendly and safe country and we all need to value this as the best country to live in and then make sure that we all look after one another."
