By ORLANDO DELANO
Special to the AV News
Irma Garcia has taken such an interesting journey to get to Port Alberni.
Irma García Rosell de Santamaria left her native Peru and moved to Canada to settle in our Alberni Valley in December 2022. She reunited with her son Sergio, already in Port Alberni for almost two decades, and his family: wife Alana and daughters Juliette and Alessandra.
Peru, a South American country with a population of more than 32 million, is the third largest country in the region, and is bordered by Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile and the Pacific Ocean. It has one of the longest histories of civilization of any country, tracing its heritage back to the 10th millennium BCE. Irma was born in Bellavista, Callao, in the Lima Metropolitan area. She has fond memories of her school years at Colegio Santa Maria in Lima.
“In addition to my schooling, my mother wanted me to keep busy most of the time by visiting relatives and friends. I became active in sports as well, especially during the warm summer months, by practicing recreational swimming (and occasional competitions),” she said.
“Since my family could not afford to give me the financial resources to study a traditional university career, my mother contacted one of her cousins, who advised me to enroll at a specialized academy for Graduate Secretarial College, run by Canadian nuns.” Irma signed up for courses at the academy, which, she comments, was a very strict and disciplined institution. The academy’s goal was to prepare future high-level secretaries to work in major public and private organizations.
After a full intensive academic year, she successfully graduated. Now, with a diploma in her hands, Irma found a job at OYSSA, a fishing enterprise, the largest industry of this kind in Peru. Following the tragic death of her supervisor, she left the company after a year and joined the working crew of the Ford Company branch in the country, which was in the process of reopening at that time.
Following that, an exciting professional opportunity came soon after. She applied for work at the United Nations Development Program and was accepted as an executive secretary. During her tenure, she was promoted to work with higher level supervisors, including the second ranking member of the program for the UN Peruvian Headquarters.
Irma is the second born child in her family. Her brother Freddy, nine years older, is an ophthalmologist who practices his profession in San Isidro, in the district of Lima. “My brother and I keep good and constant communication.”
Kike, Irma’s late husband, passed away five years ago. The couple had first met in Lima in the early 1970s after being introduced at a New Year´s party. They married in 1975.
“This year we would have been married for 49 years,” she says. She adds that she and her husband came to Canada several times throughout the years, including a special trip for the wedding of Sergio and Alana right here at Harbour Quay. ¨Sergio and Alana met in Peru at the time she was doing her post-graduate studies in the country.”
Irma is quick to reflect on her current life in a new country. “I love living in Canada,” she says, “although the climate is very different from my country’s, but I am gradually getting accustomed to it.”
“I am happy spending social time with new friends and acquaintances here. Also, every Friday I join two other ladies to provide some assistance at my granddaughters’ school. We are part of the volunteer group at the Breakfast Program.”
Orlando Delano writes the monthly Valley Seniors column for the Alberni Valley News.
