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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 31 ,2 01 9 | 10 2019 NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN Visit canadianimmigrant.ca/rbctop25 NOMINATE SOMEONE TODAY! Do you know an inspiring immigrant who has made a positive impact in Canada? Recognize and celebrate their achievements by nominating them for this coveted national award by Feb 22, 2019. Title sponsor: Presented by: Media sponsors: Friendly Professional Team... where your total health is our goal!Friendly Professional Team... where your to • Free Blood Glucose Monitor & Teaching • Free Blood Pressure Che k • Compounding • Flu Vaccinations 373 Bridge St.Waterloo www.thpharmacy.com eck loo .com hours Mon.-Fri. 9am-7pm • Sat. 9am-4pm 519-747-0320 For Hilde Boucke- nooghe, moving from Bel- gium to the U.S. and back to Belgium, before ulti- mately landing in Water- loo, wasn't easy. Her husband, an engi- neer who's now firmly rooted with a local tech firm, had opportunities abroad he couldn't refuse, meaning his wife and kids had to tag along. "It's a very stressful process for everyone, and there's a lot of stress for the partner who accepted the assignment because he or she feels very re- sponsible for the family and wants that family happy," said Boucke- nooghe, who obtained a master's degree in history and left her job at the uni- versity in Ghent. She said her family had limited assistance upon landing in Canada in 2006. A relocation firm based in Montreal linked them with a real estate person here, but she wasn't used to having a choice of three different types of schools, depending on her house. "I was like, 'What do you mean?' But you learn," she said, now with three school-age children enrolled locally. "Everyone who can read and write can figure everything out. It just takes so much longer." That's why Boucke- nooghe decided to start her own relocation com- pany back in 2011. "Everything I do in this work for people is based on my own experience," she said. "That's what I believe is the strength of my compa- ny. I have walked in their shoes, and that makes a complete difference - whether I do this com- pared to someone who is born and raised here and sees it through a Canadi- an lens." The company called Settle In Relocation Ser- vices works with local companies and recruit- ment firms that are bring- ing employees to Water- loo, Kitchener and Cam- bridge, as well as one com- pany exclusively based in Mississauga. Over the years, Bouck- enooghe has worked with more than 100 individuals and families from six dif- ferent continents. Most of her clients are Asian or European, and mostly all of them can benefit from a more com- prehensive, one-on-one approach to settlement, often with the help of in- terpreters. Bouckenooghe pro- vides services in English, Dutch and French and has a basic understanding of Spanish and German. "Depending on the fam- ily we usually go over En- glish as a second lan- guage," Bouckenooghe said. "I've had many fami- lies where the partner doesn't speak English, so it's a matter of taking them to these places. Be- cause people feel reluc- tant - they don't feel com- fortable, they don't speak the language. You have to go with them to the first appointment for the first assessment of their lan- guage skills." The company that hires Settle In is usually responsible for determin- ing the breadth of orienta- tion, depending on the cli- ents' needs. It can be broad, and Bouckenooghe provides people with a printed and e-version of a binder - a bi- ble so they know what to do at each stage - built from a network that's pro- vided input on topics such as education, housing, arts and entertainment, employment and spousal assistance. Bouckenooghe will al- so personally assist peo- ple in setting up their SIN number, OHIP card, driv- er's licence and bank ac- counts. "I physically take them to the offices and depend- ing on the amount of peo- ple present in these offic- es, we can do this between four to six hours, and that takes a tremendous amount of stress away from people," she said. "I tell them upfront ex- actly what type of paper- work they need. I take them directly to the office and they don't have to think anymore, and they can go back to work after one or two days and every- thing is set up." Bouckenooghe's core value in everything she does is that the individual and their family come first. "Every decision I make, I keep that in my mind." She also stays in touch with clients and keeps her door open. "You've gone through a very intense time with these families," she said. "It's just nice to follow up." Check out settleinrelo- cation.com for more infor- mation or to obtain a quote. BUSINESS FORMER NEWCOMER NOW HELPS CLIENTS RELOCATE TO KITCHENER, WATERLOO, CAMBRIDGE NEWBIZ LEARN ABOUT NEW BUSINESSES IN YOUR COMMUNITY. WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA PERSONAL EXPERIENCE SETS EXCLUSIVE SERVICES APART, OWNER CLAIMS ADDRESS 464 Old Oak Dr.Waterloo, ON N2T 2V8 PHONE: 519-589-3250 EMAIL: hilde@settleinrelocation.com WEBSITE: www.settleinrelocation.com Hilde Bouckenooghe, a Waterloo woman who experienced some difficulties adjusting to Canadian life back in 2006, now hopes to make the experience feel not so desolate for others. Marie De Mey photo BILL JACKSON bjackson@kitchenerpost.ca