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From a Loan Recipient:

"I am really thankful and grateful with the IAF because these are people who believed in me even if they didn’t know me. They just want to give me hope and I recommend this organization to all the immigrants who are losing their hope. There is always a light in the street and IAF is a ight."

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Investment yields experience and promising future

Posted: August 29, 2011

Walters Munde left his position as agricultural supervisor for Del Monte Foods in Cameroon to immigrate to Canada in March 2008. The 40 year old came with a dream of a better life for his wife and six-month-old daughter. Friends had spoken to him about the opportunities he would have to develop a career and live well in Canada.

But when Walters arrived he found no employment in his field in spite of his masters in agriculture from Sierra Leon and his masters in environmental sciences from Belgium. He worked as a round-the-clock security officer, alternating shifts with Petula. They earned $12 per hour.

Walters wanted to continue on a professional career path and recognized he needed Canadian credentials to do that. He sought funding and found the Immigrant Access Fund at the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers. He received a $10,000 loan, which allowed him to pursue accreditation as an environmental practitioner program with Eco Canada.

While studying, he received a contract offer from a First Nations organization to work as an environmental technician for its technical services advisory group. The contract ended in August and now Walters is set up to pursue a 10-month-long program in oil and gas administration at CDI College in Edmonton.

“With my environmental background, I will find employment in the oil and gas sector that has the potential to pay a decent salary,” Walters says. He underlines that the support from IAF gave him the start he needed when he came to Canada.

“It’s helped give my family and me hope for a better future,” he says. “I feel more confident applying for jobs because the loan helped with the training and work experience I needed to establish myself in this new country. It’s changed my life.”