Lohja multi-purpose centre welcomes everyone as they are

TEXT ELINA LAINE PHOTOGRAPHS LOHJAN MONITOIMIKESKUS

Lively chatting in different languages, excursions, a language café, an international football group, help and assistance for integration, getting to know Lohja and learning about the essence of being Finnish. Small yet active Lohja multi-purpose centre offers this and much more.

Learn Finnish group: student Leena and volunteer Anja practise Finnish together.

Football tournament Ball Cup 2019 at Harju football ground, with a total of 80 players.

”We are proud of the operation of the multi-purpose centre. With its warm, welcoming and safe atmosphere, it offers a venue where everybody can come as they are, says Jana Riisalo, working life coordinator of Lohja multi-purpose centre.

Active

The multi-purpose centre operates very actively. Multi-cultural groups are run by instructor together with the association’s volunteers.

There are 12 groups to choose from, whether interested in learning Finnish or playing football in a multi-cultural team. The centre’s activities reach approximately 200 people a year, with more than 3,000 visits. ”People who visit us represent 35 nationalities. Most of them have moved to Finland because they have a Finnish spouse. We have noticed that our visitors definitely want to participate in our activities,” Riisalo says. ”In the summers of 2017-2019, we organised a multi-cultural Ball Cup football tournament, with six teams from Lohja, Vihti, Karkkila, Helsinki and Tampere. It was a fine experience for young people from Afghanistan who were living in a group family home in Lohja.

Our activities were boosted by the multi-cultural Lohja event that we arranged at the local museum in 2017 to celebrate Finland’s 100th anniversary. As a result, we received many new, interested visitors.”

Help in coping with the rules of working life

According to Riisalo, Lohja multi-purpose centre is a reputable, well-known and appreciated regional actor. Among others, it cooperates with the city of Lohja’s immigration team, Nuori Lohja youth services as well as the workers of Ohjaamo. ”Since January 2021, we have been able to focus on working life activities, the purpose of which is to improve immigrants’ working life skills,” says Riisalo about her new job description. ”Many of them need help in dealing with the rules of working life or finding a place to study or a job. They are extremely motivated to integrate, become part of Finnish society, find a job and learn Finnish.” ”Some of the immigrants have integrated well, they have local friends and they can cope independently. However, some come from difficult conditions and may not have education, and therefore need more support.”

Lohja surprises!

The Learn Finnish language café has been part of the association’s range of activities since the beginning. The association faced a new situation last spring when group gatherings had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus. According to Riisalo, the multi-purpose centre has been the only place for many of the immigrants for receiving peer support, so new ways of contact had to be found. ”We have a live broadcast via Facebook and Instagram once a week where we talk in Finnish about different topics related to Finland. Our customers can send comments during the broadcast, and the recordings can also be viewed later and used for learning Finnish,” says organisation coordinator Maaria Tirri.

Tirri praises the location of the centre close to the city centre and Lohjanjärvi. The intention is to a arrange a new type of activity: the Get to Know Lohja group that will be summoned twice a month and in which guided visits are arranged to places where the immigrants would not perhaps go on their own. ”Immigrants have been surprised to find out that people are helpful, friendly and honest. They have also praised nature, safety and the effectiveness of society. Lohja surprises,” Tirri and Riisalo say with a smile.

LOHJAN MONITOIMIKESKUS RY

• An association founded in 1997.

• Promotes integration, employment and multicultural interaction in Lohja and Vihti.

• The aim is to organise low-threshold activities for both immigrants and Finns, strengthening participation and social networks.

• Multi-cultural group activities are financed by the Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health

Organisations (STEA) and the City of Lohja.

• Values guiding the activities are equality, responsibility and humanity.

• The association provides employment and work try-outs, rehabilitating exemplary employment as well as the possibility for on-the-job learning as part of studies. The precondition for employment is the right to receive wage subsidy.

• The association received more financial support in 2020, through which it hired a new organisation coordinator.

• Three permanent employees. • 25 Finnish volunteers engaged in the activities.

• Read more: www.lohjanmonitoimikeskus.fi

Do you want to know more about living in Lohja: kotilohjalta.fi (choose English)

Mika Sivula, Mayor of lohja

WE CAN BE PROUD OF LOHJA

Lohja is a traditional city with well-established roots. The heart of the town is the 500-year old church around which people gathered and traded long before the church was built. Later fine manors and industrial plants were erected, helping Lohja grow even bigger and more prosperous. Municipal mergers have introduced Lohja with new areas, beautiful villages, fertile countryside and beautiful cultural landscapes.

I fell in love with Lohja soon after I visited it for the first time. I was impressed by the ridge and lake, astonishingly lush nature, pleasant residential areas with apple trees and the excellent availability of services in the compact city. I remember walking amidst lush mid-summer nature and feeling a sense of magic at that moment. Along the years I have again and again been astonished by everything that Lohja offers. I am constantly surprised by the versatility of the local companies, for instance.

Our starting points are good and we have prospects for even better. We can offer a wealth of opportunities for practically every taste. There are many types of living environments to choose from: the countryside, the city and villages. Many of the opportunities offered by our lakes still remain unexploited. We have an excellent location, and there are plans for a quick rail connection. Schools are also being modernised.

The biggest question I am puzzled with is how we could get even more Finns to know Lohja. All too few know us well. The housing fair 2021 will offer an excellent opportunity for this. The lakeside landscape in Hiidensalmi provides visitors with a new impression about Lohja.

This magazine, too, is part of our desire to tell the story of Lohja. It opens many perspectives and a window to our beautiful city. Rewarding reading moments!

Mika Sivula

Mayor of Lohja