Cabaslot Fiesta: Report on Residential Camp for Sierra Leone Refugee
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Report on the residential camp for Sierra Leone Refugee women and children February, 2003 NSW Education Program on FGM Cabaslot Fiesta Report on the residential camp for Sierra Leone Refugee women and children February, 2003 NSW Education Program on FGM ISBN 1740 80 0680 Copyright NSW Education Program on FGM Author: Juliana Nkrumah Sydney West Area Health Service Locked Bag 7118 Parramatta BC NSW 2150 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The NSW Education Program on Female Genital Mutilation gratefully acknowledges the valuable contribution of: · The Sierra Leone women and children who attended Cabaslot Fiesta in February 2003 · Saibatu Kamara, who brought her heart and mind to the philosophy of the Program, and graciously committed her time and network of women to making the idea of a camp a reality · The Sierra Leone Women’s Working Party: Saibatu Kamara Bintu Kamara Salamatu Bayoh Tigidankay Daramay Juliet Ann Koroma Elizabeth Kamara (Maame Lizzie) Ijatu Jalloh Fatu Bangura (Maame Fatu) Marie Baby Sepateh Hawa Kanneh · The Camp Working Party: Echo Morgan - WSAHS Area Multicultural Health Unit Juliana Nkrumah - NSW Education Program on FGM Nicola Carter - STARTTS Shairon Fray - NSW Education Program on FGM Bernadette Agyepong - Blacktown Migrant Resource Centre Maria Mitar - Blacktown Migrant Resource Centre Lesley Garton - NSW Education Program on FGM Bernadetta Cansdell - Wentworth Area Health Service Sue Templeman - Bankstown Girls High School Saibatu Kamara - Sierra Leone Women’s Working Party Tigidankay Daramay - Sierra Leone Women’s Working Party · Young Peoples Working Party Janet Irvine – STARTTS Maria Mitar - Blacktown Migrant Resource Centre · Partners: NSW Education Program on FGM WSAHS Area Multicultural Health Unit Blacktown Migrant Resource Centre – Small & Emerging Communities Project STARTTS Wentworth Area Health Service (Women’s Health Nurses) Bankstown Girls High School i · Sponsors: Nature Care College Revlon The Body Shop Breast Screen Western · People who provided support and assistance before, during and after the camp: Louise Cox – independent contractor, facilitator and supporter of the camp process Di Lane – South West Sydney Area Health Service, for her expertise in providing a framework to build on during the planning period Pam and her friend from Mount Druitt Children’s Services Paula Abood and Nadya Stani - community arts consultants Ina Gaha, Nerilyn Lee & Vivienne Strong - AMHU Staff who lent support in the most crucial and difficult places Bintu Kamara - who acted as a cultural interpreter for her community FGM Program Advisory Committee members who commented on the document ii PROJECT PARTNERS The major partnership was between the Area Multicultural Health Unit of Western Sydney Area Health Service and the NSW Education Program on FGM. The Senior Health Promotion Officer in the AMHU acted as the co-camp coordinator with the Community Education and Development Officer of the FGM Program. These two workers had a clear understanding and appreciation of each other's strengths and skills. The employment of their complimentary skills ensured positive outcomes for the camp. Other partners included: STARTTS whose major focus is refugees. The service has particular expertise in working with refugee young people and children and STARTTS counselors were available for counseling during the camp. Blacktown Migrant Resource Centre which has a project with the Sierra Leone community and a special refugee youth program with Sierra Leoneans with a very strong arts focus. The Ghanaian Community Settlement Services worker was an active member of the camp working party and performed the major role as the liaison person with settlement services. She brought in the agencies of Centrelink, the Community Justice Centre, the Department of School Education, and the Department of Housing to provide information to women at the camp. Women’s Health nurses from Wentworth Area Health Service,(WAHS) (as the camp venue was in their catchment area) WSAHS and Central Sydney Area Health Service (CSAHS) were invited to provide clinical and women’s health services at the camp. Women’s Health Centres – Cumberland Women’s Health Centre and Blacktown Women’s and Girls Centre were invited to provide information about non government Women’s Health Services. Nature Care College – Students from this College came to provide nurture programs such as beauty therapy and naturopathy sessions. They mainly provided massages and facials. Bankstown Girls High School (BGHS ) The school counsellor, a member of the Sierra Leone Reference Group brought the school on board as a partner. Money management (budgeting) is a crucial skill to acquire in a new society. Parents had expressed their concerns about the manner in which the young adults were using their money, and wanted to teach them some skills in handling money. Providing a session on budgeting in such an environment was crucial. The head of economics at BGHS was given a day’s relief in order to provide the session on budgeting, which ended up being rated the best session of the camp. This information was very useful for adults and young adults alike. Di Lane – Women’s Health Manager from South West Sydney Area Health Service, (SWAHS) was asked to perform the role of a consultant to the whole process, as she had run the Aboriginal Women’s Camps – “Biyani”, for SWSAHS for the previous eight years. Di provided input into the planning process, and access to her networks, which included the Naturecare College. iii Louise Cox – Women’s Health Trainer Louise has been directly involved with the NSW Education Program’s BCW training program since 1999. She was invited to attend the camp and facilitate sessions, due to her expertise and skill in facilitating groups with women from diverse backgrounds. DOCUMENTATION PROCESS AND PRODUCTS The camp process was documented through video taping of the sessions and activities. Photographs were also taken and the art sessions were recorded onto CD. The resulting products were: · Community members video · Workers Training video · Women’s Stories CD · Women’s Stories booklet · Camp report iv ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS AMHU Area Multicultural Health Unit BCW Bilingual Community Worker BGHS Bankstown Girl’s High School Bundu/Bondo Themne name for Sierra Leone Women’s Secret Society Cabaslot Traditional Krio dress. Embodiment of Womanhood. CEDO Community Education and Development Officer CSAHS Central Sydney Area Health Service FGM Female Genital Mutilation Fiesta Depicting fun, relaxation, enjoyment Junta Wives Girls abducted into sexual slavery by rebel forces Krio A true English based Creole language. It is the lingua franca throughout Sierra Leone. It has wide usage as the second language and the dominant language of the younger generation. It is the formal language for those who do not speak English, and the mother tongue language of the Krio people who are the direct descendants of repatriated slaves from Jamaica. MRC Migrant Resource Centre NSW New South Wales RUF Revolutionary United Front Sande Mende name for Sierra Leone Women’s Secret Society Sierra Leone Women’s Sierra Leone Women’s Organisation spearheaded by women Wun Word Inc who attended camp. Increasing membership on a monthly basis STARTTS Service for the Treatment And Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats SWSAHS South Western Sydney Area Health Service WAHS Wentworth Area Health Service WSAHS Western Sydney Area Health Service Wun Word Krio phrase for Unity – One World Yaba yaba a phrase referring to rubbish that needs to be thrown away. It is used to refer to meat off cuts, withered parts of green vegetables that cannot be used in the meal. In this context, it refers to food that is not substantial v TABLE OF CONTENTS My name is Bintu Kamara ........... A “CABASLOT FIESTA” PARTICIPANT’S REPORT ………………………….. 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY …………………………………………………………… 3 INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………. 6 Naming the Camp …………………………………………………. 7 Camp Aim …………………………………………………………… 7 Objectives …………………………………………………………… 7 Rationale ……………………………………………………………. 8 BACKGROUND ……………………………………………………………………. 9 Sierra Leone community in NSW …………………………………. 9 Issue of FGM with Sierra Leone Community ……………………. 10 Action on FGM in the Sierra Leone community in NSW ……….. 10 PROCESS …………………………………………………………………………… 11 Consultation and Reference Group ………………………………. 11 Working parties ……………………………………………………… 11 Recruitment and Organisation …………………………………….. 12 PROGRAM …………………………………………………………………………… 13 Daily highlights ………………………………………………………. 13 Day 1 ………………………………………………………………….. 13 Day 2 ………………………………………………………………….. 13 Day 3 ………………………………………………………………….. 14 Day 4 ………………………………………………………………….. 15 EVALUATION ………………………………………………………………………... 16 Process evaluation …………………………………………………… 16 Impact evaluation …………………………………………………….. 17 Expected outcomes ………………………………………………….. 17 Unexpected outcomes ………………………………………………. 18 SWOT Analysis ………………………………………………………. 19 Lessons ……………………………………………………………….. 20 Key elements for success …………………………………………… 21 vi RECOMMENDATIONS ……………………………………………………………. 23 REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………………... 24 APPENDICES …………………………………………………………………….… 25 1. Short History of Sierra Leone ……………………………………………... 25 2. FGM in Sierra Leone ………………………………………………………. 31 3. Camp Program ……………………………………………………………… 36 4. Budget ……………………………………………………………………….. 38 5. Lyrics to Sweet Mother …………………………………………………….. 39 6. Some Krio Proverbs ………………………………………………………… 40 7. Services for Sierra Leone Community ……………………………………