CARLYLE - Like many towns in rural Saskatchewan, Carlyle has been receiving a regular influx of newcomers from many countries.
A few weeks ago, some residents, including librarian Naomi Twietmeyer, decided to make these newcomers welcome. Every second Tuesday, people are invited to meet at the Carlyle Public Library for an informal meet and greet session.
“I was born in the United States and my husband Jesse is Australian-Canadian,” said Twietmeyer. Over the past few years, Carlyle has welcomed people of many nationalities with open arms.
“The stress of moving to a new country, finding a job and raising a family is incredible. We felt this was a good way to welcome new people to our community.”
Michele and Rodrigo Trevisan are Brazilians who were born and raised in the city of Curitiba, a metropolis of over three million people. Rodrigo, 31, has travelled to Europe and visited Toronto several years ago. He comes from an entrepreneurial family who own and operate a restaurant. Rodrigo has a post graduate degree in business from FAE. He met Michele, 26, seven years ago and they were married in 2019. She is an accredited schoolteacher with a degree in pedagogy, a bachelor of education by the Federal University of Parana in Brazil.
The Trevisans had thought about leaving their home country for many years and felt that Canada would be a good place to move and begin raising a family. In 2022, Rodrigo responded to a help wanted advertisement with the Canalta company. Canalta owns and operates 40 properties in Western Canada and has recently expanded its footprint into the fast-food industry.
Last August, Rodrigo’s Canadian work permit was approved. He came to this country and started employment as a supervisor at the A & W in Davidson. In December, he received a transfer to Carlyle. With his immigrant status now officially approved, Michele was allowed to join him, and she arrived in Carlyle just over a month ago.
Since arriving, Michele’s life has been on speed dial. Because of her love of teaching and children, she dropped into the Carlyle Public Library and instantly became good friends with Twietmeyer. The library required a part-time assistant and Michele was hired. A few days later, the Trevisans noticed an employment opportunity had appeared for the South East Cornerstone Public School Division.
Michele applied for the job and is now employed fulltime as an educational assistant at the Gordon F. Kells High School. She started working at the school this week and will remain on as a part-time employee with the library.
Michele is a person of faith and believes everything happens with a purpose.
“Rodrigo and I are very happy to be living here and are finding Carlyle to be very friendly and accommodating. We are excited to be starting a new chapter of our life here,” said Michele.
The Trevisans are both highly educated and are determined to become positive additions to their new community.
The Carlyle library has held two community nights in the past few weeks which have been well-attended by several newcomers to their town.
“We felt that it was important to welcome our newcomers with open arms,” said Twietmeyer. “Moving to a new community is one thing, moving from other country must be extremely difficult. The library is a great place to meet new people and the community nights have been well-attended and greatly appreciated.”
The next community night is scheduled for March 7 at 5 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend and visit with the new citizens of Carlyle. As for the Trevisans, their next pressing issue is bringing their four-year-old English bulldog Polenta to Canada. The cost of canine air travel from Brazil will exceed the cost of a person.
