"Welcome to Canada," said the Canadian government officials to one of the most well known of Coast performers, Jean Pierre Makosso, when they informed him that he had been granted residency status in this country.
"But I've been here for 10 years!" he replied, grinning his famous trademark smile.
Makosso is jumping for joy that his status in the country that he loves has finally been sanctioned. It's not yet a citizenship, but it's the first step in that process.
Makosso is originally from the Congo in Africa. He is an African dance instructor, an actor on Vancouver and Gibsons stages, a director and author who is about to release his third book of poetry in French and English. He's been seen performing in many of the schools on the Sunshine Coast - kids love him. He has organized many shows involving the community during Black History Month in February. When the Canada World Youth students came to stay on the Coast, and Makosso learned that they would exchange with Africa, he pitched in to help them perform plays, written by African playwrights.
Not having any status in Canada meant that every time he took on a job he had to apply for a work permit. It also meant that he could not leave the country because he would not be allowed to return. With a wife and brothers in the Congo and a daughter studying in Tunisia, this was a huge hardship.
It became especially poignant when his mother, a storyteller whose inspiration has found its way into his writing, died last November, and he couldn't be there with the family. Ironically, the notice that his status had been approved arrived just eight days later.
Makosso is grateful to each and every one in this community and particularly to his Coast "mother," the late Joni Thompson of Gibsons.
He first visited Canada in 1994 as a performer at the Vancouver Children's Festival. Between shows he roamed the site selling his art, and that's where he met Thompson, who was operating a food booth. She laughed when he called her mother and the two became firm friends. When he returned to the Congo, he opened an orphanage for the many children who have been devastated by war and disease.
"I asked Joni, send us books, anything, to help," he recalls. "She helped support the orphanage and the kids exchanged letters with her."
By 2001 she had actively worked to bring Makosso to Canada, directing him towards Sechelt's Ecole du Pacifique since he is fluent in French. The community welcomed him.
"Each one of you filled my bottle of knowledge," Makosso said with gratitude.
He said that in an African village, each child belongs to everyone.
"Joni was my mother, and everyone here raised me," he said.
Coming to Canada has been hard work, but with the new status, many doors will open for him as a performer, without having to go through the repetitive work permit procedure. Makosso will be heading for Ottawa soon to give shows and workshops and to promote his book, Human Works.
