South African family makes their home in Eston
BY JOAN JANZEN
joanjanzen@yahoo.com
A new family has moved to Eston, Saskatchewan. Juandre and Helenka Bernard and their two young sons left their home country of South Africa and arrived at Eston earlier in September. After being self-quarantined for two weeks, Juandre was ready to begin his new position as a journeyman technician at Owens & Sweitzer.
Helenka explained the process her family needed to go through in order to move to Canada. “Our first choice was to leave South Africa, so we started looking at options. I know climate-wise, Australia seemed the way to go, but we love the way people are in Canada. We decided we’d like to raise our kids where they are allowed to play on the streets safely, and where people are gracious towards you. Even though it’s colder here, we had to make a move for our children.” The two Bernard boys are aged five and eight years.
Both Juandre and Helenka emphasized their love for South Africa and noted that it is truly beautiful with many untouched, picturesque areas; however, the culture has changed. “The entire lifestyle is not how I grew up. It’s no longer safe. You can have your house broken into in the middle of the day,” Helenka confessed. “It became impossible to get a job if you can’t prove your 70 percent of colour, and you can’t say anything about it, or they call you a racist. We were working seven days a week at two jobs in order to feed our kids.” Juandre had his own workshop in South Africa, where he repaired agriculture and industrial equipment, and Helenka was a marketing designer and did photography on weekends.
As the couple prepared to move, they saved up everything they could. Someone introduced them to an agent who got Juandre a job interview. Then Juandre and Helenka sold everything they owned to pay the agent. It was a huge sacrifice for the young family, and a difficult choice to decide to leave all that was familiar behind, but they were willing to pay the price in order to live in a free and safe country.
“It was hard leaving close family, but you don’t get many opportunities to leave the country, so when you do, you take it,” Helenka said. “We are actually enjoying it a lot here. We are getting used to the cold; this fall weather is equal to our winter.”
Helenka was so concerned about Canada’s cold weather that most of the luggage she brought consisted of blankets, which are now being well used. “The kids are constantly using the blankets while watching TV. They are rolled up like sausages,” she said. But the boys are adjusting well, and both had learned English as a second language while in South Africa.
Nevertheless, living in Eston, Saskatchewan, is a big adjustment for the family. “It’s a different lifestyle completely,” Helenka said. “I’ve had to relearn how to cook.” And her children, who are accustomed to living in a hot country and running around barefoot, complain about wearing shoes.
Helenka, who is a lifestyle and wedding photographer, has already lined up some photoshoots. “I’ve already booked three family shoots,” she said. She calls her business “Photos by Helenka,” and her photos on Facebook are impressive.
“We’re just happy to be here, and we always have faith in God that He will look after us,” Helenka said. “It’s just an amazing experience to be here; I love seeing the kids playing outside.” The young mom expressed how grateful she was when a youngster brought over a bicycle for her oldest son.
“We’re coming to this town to stay; we’re not just trying to make a start here and then move on. We want to be part of the community.” Helenka concluded.
So if you see Helenka and Juandre and their boys, be sure to give them a warm Saskatchewan welcome; they will be sure to appreciate your kindness.
Juandre and Helenka Bernard with their boys. SUBMITTED PHOTO
