Onai joined Windmill in August of 2018 and is based in Calgary, Alberta.
Onai Abote, Community Relations Specialist, joined Windmill Microlending’s Calgary office in August of 2018. Since then, she has been supporting partners like you in Alberta with presentations, resources and information sessions that can be useful for your staff as well as for clients and students.
During information sessions, Onai provides details about Windmill, our loan program, who we serve, and when to direct a client/student to our organization. She’s also available for group presentations to clients/students to explain what we offer and who’s eligible for our low-interest microloans.
Onai’s efforts have helped deepened our referral network of immigrant-serving organizations, learning institutions, regulatory bodies, professional associations and ethno- and occupation-specific groups. Although her primary geographic focus is Calgary and Edmonton, she has also represented Windmill across British Columbia. She has built referral networks across Canada in collaboration with counterparts in other provinces.
Before joining Windmill, Onai worked at Postmedia, publishers of the Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun. As part of the advertising management team, she had a job as Media Coordinator and was featured as a columnist in both papers. She also served as a committee member on the Calgary Herald Christmas Fund Committee, a fund that awards grants to some of the city’s agencies working with vulnerable groups.
Onai is originally from Zimbabwe, where she had over eight years of experience as a journalist. She worked as a freelance television producer for Reuters, and later as Project Coordinator (and journalist) for The Source – Zimbabwe’s first business and financial news agency launched and supported by Thomson Reuters Foundation and the European Journalism Centre.
“Working with Windmill, as part of the ‘boots on the ground’ outreach team, ensures that I enlighten internationally educated immigrant professionals about our microloan program, and how it can become a stepping stone to getting back into their careers. It’s gratifying to see our clients doubling or tripling their income after attaining their Canadian certification or equivalent credential. The best outcome for me is seeing our clients and their families prosper in Canada.”
Connect with Onai:
onai@teamwindmill.org
1-855-423-2262 ext. 236
