When Low German-speaking Mennonites from Latin America arrive in Ontario, there are huge cultural shifts that need to be made. They bring with them an understanding of how things were in the colonies they left behind and soon learn that the Canadian medical context is quite different. For service providers, accompanying the Low German Mennonites as they adapt often requires much sensitivity and understanding. The following outline hopefully helps to set a context for how this group of people has been used to approaching issues of health and well-being.
Accessing health services
In Latin America, many Low German speaking families access formal health services only when home remedies or their community’s lay practitioners are unable to resolve a medical issue.
In Latin America, Low German Mennonites live in villages that are often quite remote. In some cases, horse and buggy transportation may be the primary mode of transportation and travelling to larger centres means accessing public transportation. Further, many of these countries do not have universal health insurance. The result is that many Low German speaking families access formal health services only when home remedies or their community’s lay practitioners are unable to resolve a medical issue.
“The process for medical appointments (in Ontario) is sometimes very frustrating. We come from Mexico and my wife is pregnant. We know we need to see a doctor that will deliver the baby but now we have to go to our nurse practitioner and then she has to send us to the obstetrician. It would be so much easier to just go to the obstetrician without all these extra appointments. In Mexico, there are not these constant appointments at doctors until the baby is born. These procedures are strange to us.”
Since there are very few educated and licensed Low German speaking health care providers in Latin America and since the women do not speak Spanish, their husbands will often accompany them to appointments and translate for them.
Universal health care in Ontario
When they arrive in Ontario, Low German families value and appreciate the health care system. To be able to access medical care 24/7 is seen as a privilege. However, some have expressed frustration that several appointments and referrals are required for addressing one issue. Often, the expectation is that the medical practitioner should prescribe medication for one’s ailment and if this does not occur, the person may leave the appointment feeling that the consultation was a waste of time and resources.
“Our start in Ontario was very hard. My husband was a Canadian citizen but I was not. We came here in February and I was in the beginning of my pregnancy. A health card can’t be issued until you have lived in Canada for 3 months, but before getting a card, you need to have the proper documents supporting your status. I applied for my landed immigrant status but could not get a health card in time. We ended up having the baby and had to pay for everything ourselves. What a setback that was! I finally got my health card 2 years later. I had it when my next baby was born.”
<< Back | Chapter Content | Next >>