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AWO's 2009-2010 Annual Report

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AWO's 2009-2010 Annual Report Afghan Women’s Organization Annual Report 2009-2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS Message from the President and Executive Director 3 Introduction 4 Vision, Mission, Values 4 Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) 5-7 Settlement Services (ISAP and NSP) 8-9 Youth Program 10 Seniors Program 11 Homework Club 12 HOST Program 13 JSW Program 14 Mental Health Program 14 Multicultural Women‘s Wellness Program 15 Women‘s Circle 15 Volunteers 16 Financial Literacy Education Project 17 Fundraising and Cultural Events 17 Foreign Trained Medical Practitioners‘ Focus Group 17 Staff Training 18 Sponsorship 19 Heritage Language Programs 19 Omid-E-Mirmun Orphanage 19 Funders and Partners 20 AWO Staff 21 Board of Directors 22-23 Locations 24 Page 2 AFGHAN WOMEN’S ORGANIZATION MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 2009-2010 has been a year full of tremendous resiliency. We were faced with financial strain and increasing demand for services. Despite these times, we are pleased to report that we met our goals. This is primarily due to our hard working board members, managers, staff and volun- teers who touch and transform the lives of refugees and newcomers who have made Canada their home. We are known for delivering culturally and linguistically appropriate services which are fo- cused, but not limited, to refugee women and their families who constitute a very unique seg- ment of our society. Their need is unique and requires very special care, attention and experi- ence. Since the majority of our staff and board members have personal experience of being refugees, they have first hand understanding of the needs of our clients. This is what makes our organization unique and special. We had a number of successes to celebrate! We had an increase in the number of our clients and volunteers. Further, we have reached out to other organizations and have created new partnerships. We also had a number of challenges. We were faced with financial strain due to the difficult and unpredictable economic times. We tried to overcome these challenges by making new alliances with other organizations and diversifying our resources. Many of our clients from the Afghan community are still impacted by the continuous instability and loss of innocent lives in Afghani- stan since they had left loved ones back home or in refugee camps. This had a significant im- pact on their speedy settlement in Canada. We have weathered these challenging times and hope to continue to deliver the best service we can. In the year ahead, we will continue to make new partnerships and expand our resources and fo- cus on working as efficiently as possible to maximize the resources we have. We are privileged to be working with an organization so dedicated to improving the future of refugees and new- comers in our society and ultimately building a stronger community for all of us. Asma Faizi, President Adeena Niazi, Executive Director AFGHAN WOMEN’S ORGANIZATION Page 3 INTRODUCTION To improve the quality of life and facilitate social and economic integration, the Afghan Women‘s Organization (AWO) has been serving newcomers to Canada by offering culturally competent, socially responsible and in- novative programs and services. Over the past two decades, our services have continually expanded and im- proved in response to rising demand from the growing Afghan community and other newcomer communities in the Greater Toronto Area. The number of AWO clients significantly increases year after year, and this year we have served over 15,000 clients. We provide comprehensive support and services to address the needs of new immigrants, in particular those with refugee experiences, from our four centers: Head Office, Flemingdon Park, Scarborough and Mississauga. Throughout these locations, the AWO currently employs over 80 full- time and part-time employees. The AWO is committed to continuously improve its services to effectively ad- dress the needs of new immigrants and provide the necessary support and services to assist them in their so- cial and economic integration process in Canada. Mission Vision AWO works with refugees and immigrants, Refugees and immigrants, especially those and those who have experienced wars and who have experienced persecution, lead- persecutions, with a special focus on ing self-sufficient and dignified lives in a women and their families. Its mission is to socially-inclusive society. improve their quality of life and to promote their social and economic integration in- clusion in order to enable them to become Values contributing members of society and to live in dignity. Access and equity; dignity and respect; social inclusion; and collaboration Page 4 AFGHAN WOMEN’S ORGANIZATION LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION FOR NEWCOMERS TO CANADA (LINC) Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) provides English language training for newcomers at varying levels of proficiency. LINC assists newcomers get equipped with the English language skills neces- sary for effective integration. The objective of the LINC program is to provide basic communication and life skills that are crucial for individuals to develop into capable, independent and active members in their new communities. This past year was a very productive, dynamic and engaging one. More and more women continue to seek out the AWO LINC program for its services and complementary programs. This year, we served a total of 557 students from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds. A total of 149 students have completed a level during the reporting period. A total of 256 children have attended our child- minding facilities. Our LINC program has become extremely diverse over the past year. Students by Language Background in Toronto LINC programs: Students by Language Background in Tamil Dari/Pashtu Mississauga LINC program: Mandarin Persian/Farsi Arabic Arabic Dari Bengali Pashto Urdu Urdu Mandarin Spanish Vietnamese Cantonese Tamil Russian Spanish Bengali Gujurati In total, AWO now offers a total of 19 LINC classes throughout the Greater Toronto Area, with 11 classes being offered in Toronto and 8 in Mississauga. 5 of our classes are full-time and 14 are part time. AFGHAN WOMEN’S ORGANIZATION Page 5 LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION FOR NEWCOMERS TO CANADA (LINC) As a large focus of our English classes is to immerse our students into Canadian culture, LINC students take trips around the community and guest speakers are invited to give relevant and timely information. Below is a list of guest speakers and trips enjoyed by the students this past year. Toronto Public Services Toronto Public Health Centre Island Industry Canada Black Creek Pioneer Village Canada Revenue Agency Andrew’s Scenic Acres Flemingdon Health Centre Chinguacousy Park Centennial College Dixie Orchards Regional Fire Departments CN Tower Local Police Departments Public Libraries Trillium Health Centre Kortright Centre YMCA Maple Sugar Bush MCS Ontario Science Centre Peel Career Assessment Centre Casa Loma Interim Place Eaton Centre Family Education Centre Canadian National Exhibition Peel Region Conservation Edwards Gardens ELT programs Local Supermarkets Central Library of Mississauga Annual PLP picnic LINC teachers have participated in several training opportunities including using SAMS as a classroom evaluation tool, teaching writing skills, effective communication strategies and elicitation techniques, instruc- tions and classroom management, active reading and listening techniques, language awareness and accu- racy vs. fluency in speaking practice. In addition, LINC teachers received orientation sessions from commu- nity organizations such as Peel Family Mediation Services and East Mississauga Community Health Centre, and they attended the 3-day TESL Conference held downtown Toronto. Page 6 AFGHAN WOMEN’S ORGANIZATION LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION FOR NEWCOMERS TO CANADA (LINC) The LINC program often collaborates with other AWO programs to meet students‘ varying needs. LINC students often have an individual ISAP worker who helps them with all their settlement needs. LINC students are often matched with a volunteer in the HOST program and participate together in HOST activities. Students benefit from JSW workshops and other AWO programs such as mental health. Special Events Due to the natural disaster in Haiti, our students joined together and raised money for this very worthy cause. In total, $1500 was raised and presented to Shirley Mak, President of the Peel Council from Red Cross. For International Women‘s Day, AWO held a large celebration to honour women, past and present. Students presented their research assignments on the topic of inspirational women around the world and discussed the importance of women and their accomplishments. Dancing and eating ensued and everyone had a marvelous time! This year AWO Mississauga hosted the LINC Teacher Council Meetings and organized several childminding training sessions for teachers and childminders from other settlement organizations. We were pleased to in- troduce our location to other professionals in the settlement field. These are just a few of the many special events LINC has had this year! Childminding Childminding is an integral component of our LINC program as it allows our students to attend school while their young children are taken care of by qualified childminders. Daily activities in the childminding rooms include calendar information, letters, numbers, songs, crafts and culture tied into a weekly thematic unit based on seasons, holidays or other areas of interest.
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