A new purple bench in Centennial Park is carved with the Hindi word for hope, aasha.
Article content
The Aasha Bench is “a place where people can come together and build connections. . . locals and newcomers together,” said Sarnia’s Eve Astolfi.
After hearing from Lambton College international students about lonely first days in the community, Astolfi said she came up with the idea of creating a buddy bench for adults.
Like the yellow benches on school yards that encourage youngsters to sit with lonely peers, the Aasha Bench is an opportunity for newcomers to sit and signal they’re open to conversation, and for other community members to welcome them, she said.
Astolfi, who worked with the Sarnia-Lambton Local Immigration Partnership on the idea, unveiled the bench at the Festival of Cultures at the Suncor Agora Tuesday.
Article content
“It turned out really nice and I’m excited to have people use it hopefully,” Astolfi said, noting the bench and park are near local hotels where newcomers often spend their first days in Sarnia.
A QR code is signed by the bench links to a welcome app for newcomersand a bench project page — aashabench.wixsite.com/aasha-bench — tells the story of a newcomer who was welcomed to the community by a passerby as she sat on a different Centennial Park bench.
Hopes are the bench “can be a welcoming gesture, a place where any newcomer who is feeling alone, can find the strength of our community waiting for them,” the project description says.
Astolfi said she’s covered the roughly $2,500 cost of the bench to start, and is seeking sponsors.
She chose purple to differentiate this bench from the yellow buddy benches for children, while keeping it bright and welcoming, she said.
The bench, installed Dec. 30, likely will move from near the park’s playground to one of its pathways when the weather warms up in the spring, she said.
Below the bench’s title, the inscription reads: “for all those to come — we welcome you.”
Share this article in your social network