Canada has long been an esteemed destination for parents and student seeking quality education, affluent living standards and prosperous working opportunities. Vancouver BC, in particular, have been ranked the best city on earth for years and is a prime location for immigration. The diverse cultural representation existing within Vancouver is a living example of Canada's welcoming policy and inviting condition that attracts numerous immigrants from all over the world.
歷年來加拿大都是一個給予家長和學生獲得質素教育、富裕生活水平、及蓬勃就業機會的一個國家。而多年來，卑詩省的溫哥華更被排名為全世界最佳居住成市及移民勝地。單單在溫哥華市內的多元文化特質已經能證明加拿大是一個能夠容納各文化的政策和文化的聚集點。
Over the years, many parents have spent big efforts to bring their families from Asia to Vancouver, hoping to provide a better learning environment for their children. But before they can excel through the Canadian educational system, they must first understand the schooling process in Vancouver. Navigating through the ever-changing has never been easy, with highschool graduation and post secondary education entrance procedures changing every year, parents and students are often left confused and frustrated.
這許多年，很多家長耗盡畢生積蓄和心血為求要從亞洲移民到溫哥華希望給予子女有較優良的學習環境。但在子女們可以享受加拿大的教育制導之前﹐家長必須要先對溫哥華的升學制導了解清楚。不斷改變的高中畢業條件及大學收生制導﹐不僅令學生和家長難於適應﹐也令他們感到十分混亂。
Yes government issued support is available in the form of school counsellors and community centres. But such services are rarely available in Chinese and even when translation is available, they lack a holistic approach to take the student's culture and education background into account. They also lack dedicated personnel to followup on students and extend the service beyond academics. This is important for more and more studies are now concluding students show a higher chance of being successful in school if they also have a healthy social life and social networks in their communities.
雖然政府在學校和社區中心有安排顧問為家長解答他們對加拿大教育制導的各種疑惑﹐但是這些服務很少會以中文提供。縱使有時候政府會提供中文咨詢服務﹐但這些顧問可能對學生的教育及文化背景缺乏了解﹐不能為學生和家長提供全面的服務。而且﹐這些服務只能停留在學習層面﹐不能對學生提供生活上其他層面的服務 ﹔顧問在提供解答以後﹐也大多因為缺乏人手的關係不能為學生提供跟進服務。以上這些政府服務的不足對學生及家長其實是非常重要的﹐越來越多的研究顯示學生如果有一個健康的社交生活和人際關係網路﹐會比其他學生更容易在學校取得成功。
Ambassadors For Christ(AFC) recognized this need early as 1994, and took steps to set up the first office in Vancouver to assist the emerging wave of immigrants from Hong Kong, helping new immigrant students adapt to the Canadian school environment. Over the years AFC continues to expand its services and open the first AFC Student Centre specifically catering to Asian students in year 2000. Providing academic counseling, volunteering opportunities, student related workshops, and various related services for Cantonese and Mandarin speaking students in Vancouver.
加拿大基督使者協會早於 1994 年就注意到家長在這方面的需要﹐因此在溫哥華設置了第一個辦公室去為香港移民來的家庭提供協助和幫助新移民中的學生適應加拿大的學習環境。多年來﹐使者不斷地提供更多服務﹐並於 2000 年開設了使者學生中心專門解決學生及家長的需要。使者學生中心不僅提供學業咨詢﹐也提供參與各種義務工作的機會﹐更會舉辦不同類型的學生講座﹐以及為在溫哥華以廣東話和普通話為母語的學生提供各種有關服務。
As the only organization in Vancouver to serve this niche sector of students desperate for help, AFC Student Centre have created a name for itself as an academic advising specialist, and have been approached by communities all over Greater Vancouver to conduct workshops and conferences in Chinese, English, and Mandarin. With full time dedicated staff always ready to assist immigrant students and international students alike, and backed up by a full list of other services aimed to provide help and guidance in other areas of a student's life, AFC Vancouver has proved itself to be a vital part of any students' life, and we continue to examine and reinvent ourselves to stay relevant to the ever-changing school and youth culture in Vancouver.
作為溫哥華唯一一所機構提供各種服務去協助這些需要幫助的學生﹐使者學生中心﹐已被公認為一所提供學生咨詢的專業機構﹐經常受到大溫哥華多個社區邀請以中文﹐英文和普通話舉辦各種講座及座談會。為能給學生提供最全面的升學幫助，使者學生中心擁有熱誠的全職同工並最完善的升學資料庫隨時為移民學生及留學生提供幫助和校園生活的其他協助。從過去無數的感激聲音，溫哥華使者協會已被證明能成為學生及家長心目中的重大幫助。我們力求上進為要迎合在溫哥華不斷改變的學校制度及年青文化。
