Did you know that Agricultural Migrant Workers live and work in remote isolated areas for long periods of time without access to essential resources?

Agricultural Migrant Workers come to work in B.C. for long periods of time where they are isolated from other communities. With limited transportation and methods of communication, these migrant workers have little to no access to essential resources such as health care, culturally appropriate food, education, counselling, and information about important things such as COVID-19, and citizenship applications.

At Watari, we work hard to ensure that agricultural migrant workers, their families, along with refugees and people of precarious citizenship status, are treated fairly with access to these vital resources.

Health Fairs, along with mini health fairs are held to provide health check-ups, and education workshops to Agricultural Migrant Workers, who don’t otherwise have access to these essential resources.

The Health Fairs are held in Vancouver, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and Ladner, in coordination with Fraser Heath, other service providers, and migrants, refugees, and other individual volunteers. At these fairs, service provides provide check-ups on optical, cardiovascular, and other aspects of public health. Workshops teach bicycle repair, issues in trades, and a variety of health-related issues.

Tech Cafes are computer workshops that we developed and deliver, in coordination with UBC Learning Exchange and Downtown Eastside Literacy Roundtable. These workshops teach basic computer skills and social media applications. They are facilitated using the peer to peer framework to increase engagement and learning.

This program aims to decrease social isolation for Agricultural Migrant Workers, and to provide resources that will also connect with the existing migrant workers network.

Agricultural Migrant Workers face mobility restrictions, often facing difficulties to access essential services such as banking, medical care, and groceries. In partnership with Bici Libre, Watari has created, and expanded a bicycle project where we donate bikes to agricultural migrant workers.

The bikes are delivered with helmets, safety vests, lights, and locks. We also repair and service bikes belonging to workers who have already benefitted from this program, and conduct bicycle workshops so that migrant workers are empowered to fix their bikes. Additionally, we assist with providing classes on Canadian bicycle etiquette and public safety issues that will help the migrant workers avoid accidents in both rural and urban environments.

These bicycles that we deliver allow agricultural migrant workers greater access to services. They also help to deal with stress and mobility within the farm. Since 2018, 1,088 bicycles have been donated to migrant workers through this program.