Lethbridge, AB
Immigrant
Bangladesh
30-39
Sayma
Originally from Bangladesh, Sayma arrived in Saskatoon in 2017 and later moved to Lethbridge in 2019, and has since lived there with two young children.
I am very aware of my own heritage and culture because that is my identity. I tried to be friends with people here but some of the local people are racists. I felt that. That's why I came back to my culture.
Cultural Dresses Represent My Identity
I used to be shy about introducing my culture to locals as I’ve had many experiences where I do not feel welcomed by the locals. But now I will not be shy anymore to wear my costume for locals to see how beautiful my culture is. We should feel proud to represent our culture and practice. I celebrate my culture and I will be proud to introduce myself.
 I was wearing this dress for a multicultural video filmed for Asian Heritage Week to talk about my culture. |  This pink dress was sent from my mom in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh we often wore that kind of dress so I was thinking I should wear it. I did. |
|---|
Cultural Celebrations
I try to teach my kids our culture which is very beautiful. We have many celebrations almost every month. We had Eid celebration; my kids dressed up in traditional clothing; they made a card for the Bengali New Year; we did face painting as it is very popular for cultural festivals in Bangladesh. As Bangladeshi-Canadians, my kids should learn and celebrate the culture of Bangladesh. If so, they will never be frustrated in life because they will feel that they have their own culture, right here.
We celebrate the Bengali Spring Festival on February 14th. In Bangladesh, our culture is related to love and we call it the Season of Flowers. The first day, we wear traditional saris and flower crowns, put some color on our faces, and all meet together. We also decorate our house with flowers.
I put henna on my hand. My neighbor’s daughter came to me to put henna on and she likes it. I am very aware of my own heritage and culture because that is my identity. I tried to be friends with people here but some of the local people are racists. I felt that. That's why I came back to my culture.
We make this kind of cultural food every weekend. In Lethbridge, there are a few Indian restaurants but no Bangladeshi restaurants. I would sometimes order from the Indian restaurants downtown, but I prefer to make homemade food that is more authentic to me.
In April 2022, I took my Oath of Canadian Citizenship. I am happy to celebrate this special day with my son.
Celebrating International Mother Language Day
February 21 is International Mother Language Day. It was an idea from Bangladesh to observe linguistic and cultural diversity. We respect our own mother language but we should also respect other people who speak different languages. It should be celebrated because it has never happened before in Lethbridge. I thought to initiate this, as I have faced discrimination and racism in Lethbridge. This year I requested City Hall to light up on that day, and they did it and they celebrated it so people came to know about that day and other cultures.
Community Support
 I was facing many personal challenges as a single mom. I connected with a local agency where they did recreational therapy and sent me to the Horse Petting Program and Therapeutic Riding in Lethbridge. I petted the horses for one hour. It made both myself and the horse happy. I was told that if I pet the horse, I'm taking in the positive energy of the horse while making the horse happy. To get that energy, it was really nice and fun. I really loved it. |  It is good here in Lethbridge because there are really good community programs for families with kids, especially for newcomers. There is a kids mentorship program called Big Brothers & Big Sisters. Every week kids spend three to four hours with their mentor and do different activities. I'm happy as it is a really great program. I don't have any relatives here and local people are racist to me from the beginning. I try to be connected with those kind of programs and community organizations. |  My son was only two months old when we came to Lethbridge. I was involved with an organization of parents and teachers. They invited me for a picnic at Lindian-Battle Park. There were many foods, a BBQ, and many things at a beautiful place. I really enjoyed it. The organization sent a home visitor visiting my home and was teaching me about parenting and how to raise the baby, feeding, etc. That was really helpful when moving to Lethbridge as in Saskatoon I also used to get that kind of support. |  We were surprised by Santa who came to visit us at home. A volunteer from family services told her friends that we are isolated in Lethbridge and have no family here. I was really surprised that people cared about us. It's amazing! Sometimes some happiness you never expected but it just comes, so people are really nice. We’re Muslim, but Santa still came. He did that because he is kind. We should treat people with kindness. |
|---|---|---|---|
 I go to a cooking class run by Family Centre North once a month and I really like it there. It is really fun to learn to cook and meet other people. I can bring home the food that I made for the kids. They provide free childcare and a taxi voucher every month to access the place. I used to go two to three times a month, but now I would only go once because they lost the government funding. I think there should be more funding for those programs which can help newcomers who don't drive. |  It was my older son’s birthday. A local organization of bikers came to celebrate it with him. They came with many gifts and they drove their motorbike. It’s really amazing that they're making your kiddo happy. I was surprised to see many people and neighbors come out for my son's birthday. People came with a lot of balloons and it's really amazing. |
Neighbourhood & Home
Lethbridge is naturally beautiful. This beauty is near to our home in many parks which are minutes away in walking distance. The natural sceneries make me happy. The government did an awesome job by making playgrounds in those parks, where we can often go and my kids can play. The parks help me as a mother because when my kids are happy, I am happy.
We live in subsidized housing, which is really helping me as a single mother. My backyard even has a swing and stuff for the kids. When weather is good, they can play.
 There are various stores that I shop at for my groceries. I go to Costco, Walmart and sometimes No Frills. My kids are very picky eaters. Now grocery prices are becoming too expensive, making it difficult for big families. I am low income and I live in government housing. With the rising prices, I really don't know what to do. I am thinking of doing online grocery shopping or anything that I can do to save. I will try to buy within my budget because the prices are going beyond what I can afford. |
|---|
Places to go in Lethbridge
 The natural sceneries of Lethbridge are beautiful with the hills. I really love the beauty of Lethbridge. In Bangladesh, my hobby was traveling and I often visited different places. When I came to Lethbridge, I felt like that is something I can do again. Here I can see all the places. I can visit places even near my home. It is really beautiful so that makes me really happy. |  I wore a sari, which is my traditional Bangladeshi dress at Indian-Battle Park. That park is very beautiful with the hills. When I first went to that park, I felt like it was a movie scene. But to be there in real life, seeing, and without saying anything is just amazing. |  There are many beautiful places to visit in Lethbridge. One of them is at the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden. I really enjoy visiting parks and places during the summer which tend to be a walking distance of my house. |  I went to Indian-Battle Park with my volunteer helper. We went to a coal museum there. It is a small museum that shows the history of coal mining in Lethbridge and about the people who emigrated from other countries to work in coal mining. I learned about the local history and the people of Lethbridge which is helpful for me as a newcomer. |
|---|---|---|---|
 Every summer, Lethbridge does Whoop-Up Days to celebrate the Western lifestyle of Lethbridge. I took my kids to the fair and we did some rides. Lethbridge doesn’t have that kind of place for kids all year round as it is a small city, and this fair is only in the summer. The food truck had really tasty food and we love to go there for rides. |
A Fun Day at the Fair
My cultural Identity
