I am Carlos Baker from Jamaica. People call me Kevin back home – but my real name is Carlos. I have been here for nine years now. I love it here. I want to live here, but it is hard to get the status to stay here.
Back home, I have a wife, and we have been together for 23 years – her name is Camile. If you know her, you love her – she is beautiful, nice, and everyone loves her. I have about three weeks left before I go home, and she is real excited that I am coming home. My daughter is 21 and is a nurse. My daughter’s dream is to come to Canada to live, and my goal is to push to do what I can to allow her dream to come true.
Coming to Canada is a sacrifice. I started coming for six to eight weeks each year, over three years, then for six months. It takes a lot to know you are leaving your family back at home for six months, but it is worth it.
When I am back home, I am a construction worker; I do carpentry. I am a finishing carpenter. Some people would say I’m a foreman, which means I read the drawings. I can read a drawing and build a house no matter how big it is. I dream of living in Canada to offer my expertise to the country. This is a wood country, I am a lover of lumber, so I will do well in Canada working with lumber.
I want people to know that we are nice people and that we love Canadians and we love Canada. We love what we do, and we want Canadians to know that.