Local Fijian’s have gotten the opportunity to apply for passport renewals and other services right in Steinbach. Recently the Steinbach Chamber of Commerce and Eastman Immigrant Services hosted representatives from the Fiji Embassy of Washington, DC. Steinbach Chamber Executive Director Tessa Masi says it was a great opportunity. “It was great because we got to use our office to allow them to book appointments with Fijians living in Manitoba. And we had a steady flow of people coming in and out the entire day.” Tessa explains that renewing a foreign passport can be challenging. “When you have a passport from another country, in order to renew that passport, you actually have to travel either to that country, or you have to go to an embassy in usually another country.” She notes that Fijians in Manitoba typically must travel either to Washington or back to Fiji to complete the process. “This was a really unique opportunity where they're making the effort to come across Canada to serve Fijians living in Canada and actually give them the opportunity right in front of them.” Tessa says that more than nine families utilized this service. “We had families who have been here for five, 10, 15 years that were able to do paperwork for multiple children and family members at one time, pay their fee, do the biometrics, and their pictures right there in the office, and then walk away expecting new passports to come in the mail.” Edwin Pratap, Aparosa Babakobau, and Anare Bolanavanua with the Fiji Trade Commission of North America, helped local Fijians apply for passport renewals. Director of Island Breeze Manitoba Isi Masi says they had a good experience in Steinbach. “I think they really enjoyed the small community and also just a lot of the hospitality and as Fijians we were very lucky to have them travel here because usually we'd have to either go to Fiji or go to Washington, DC to renew our passport so this was great for us.” Isi says this project has been in the works for a few years and to see it finally happen has been wonderful. “We don't compare to communities like in Edmonton and Vancouver, so for them to then make Steinbach a choice for them to come to and them experiencing what they experience now, they're planning again to be coming around in March and doing another similar trip.” Tessa highlights the importance of long-standing connections. “If you've been a big voice in the Fijian community for a long time, and I think just different opportunities that came out of relationship, they realized that, ‘Okay, Steinbach is a hub for Fijians in Manitoba. There's a significant number of them. So, this is where we're going to pit stop actually for all of Saskatchewan and Manitoba’.” Isi adds that Island Breeze is thankful for the partnerships that made the event possible and hopes it inspires others. “We just seem to be a very natural connection and maybe hopefully as other immigrants in other nations are looking, because I think it happens usually in Winnipeg, but having it done in Steinbach, maybe other countries are looking and seeing that they can also bring it right to Steinbach.” With files from Judy Peters