They're not old enough to go to school, but the children who spend their time at the Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society (IMSS) daycare are - literally - learning about the ways of the world.
To celebrate B.C.'s Multiculturalism Week, daycare leaders are immersing their clients - all immigrants whose parents are taking English classes or engaging in other settlement programming - into new cultures.
The program room is decorated with crafts the children have put together - including Guatemalan dolls made from clothespins and paper mch rice bowls - and filled with the scent of food from a variety of cultures.
On Thursday, daycare leader Ava Acevedo shared her Puerto Rican roots and showed her charges, whose backgrounds include Vietnamese and Dutch, how to press out fried green plantains and served up samples with chicken and rice.
IMSS executive director Baljit Sethi said she was impressed with the programming and how it encouraged racial harmony from such a young age (the children in the daycare are no older than the age of five).
"They kids grow to understand that we're all the same," she said.
IMSS was one of four local multicultural organizations splitting a $9,500 grant from the provincial government announced Wednesday.
The Yalenka Ukrainan Dancers Society gets $2,000, the Central British Columbia Railway and Forest Industry Museum Society gets $2,500, the Prince George Native Friendship Centre Society gets $2,500 and IMSS gets the remaining $2,500.
"During Multiculturalism Week, we recognize the importance of cultural diversity in our society, and cultural expression is a big part of that," said Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond.
While Multiculturalism Week wraps up tomorrow, IMSS continues to celebrate the city's diversity and will cap off the month with the Embrace Diversity gala dinner Nov. 30.
The event, held at the Ramada Hotel, will feature dance, multicultural performances, traditional ethnic costumes, comedy from Improv Ad Nauseum and live music from Sound Addiction.
The society is also calling for nominations for a Multicultural Award to be presented at the gala. Recognition is being sought for an individual and a community organization that have made an outstanding contribution to promoting diversity and multiculturalism in Prince George and neighbouring communities for at least five years.
The deadline for nominations is Monday, Nov. 26. For ticket information for the dinner and nomination forms for the award, visit the society's website at www.imss.ca.
