Programs Over the Years...
Our first inaugural program was entitled, "Honouring Ourselves". This was a 24-week program - a 14-week life skills program, coupled with a 4-week literacy component, followed by a 5-week child care worker certificate program. This first program was based on the results of the Needs Assessment that identified the lack of training in the day care area. The day care training stage of the program was completed by July 6, 1998.
The Needs Assessment also identified high degrees of reported abuse/violence among Aboriginals and women of poverty, and situations where women were placed at risk. As a result, the life skills component of the program concentrated on the healing and empowerment of women to overcome the barriers and the marginalization within which they subsisted. It is specifically designed to include self, family, job/education, community, and leisure. All of these elements combined are critical first steps toward self-empowerment.
The second very important component of the life skills program is literacy. Women who have been abused and neglected (as in the case of all of our participant clients), severely lack literacy skills. Combined with the low self-esteem that has been generated from life-long abuse, as well as their lack of personal skills, these women become oppressed and unemployed with little to no hope. As we all know, literacy opens doors to the world, and the knowledge gained begins to create access to positive alternatives for women.
"Renewal of the Spirit" was an 8-week life skills program with a 1-week collective kitchen leadership component. This program was initiated through the months of May and June 1998. The participants were all impoverished women who received social assistance.
Groups in our area had identified that community kitchens were a positive method of addressing poverty and hunger. Proper nutrition on a shoestring budget is a challenge for our participant clients. Food safety and nutrition are constant struggles that are being addressed in the collective kitchens. A manual has been developed at the North Central Health District office to be used as a pilot project for our program. This manual is now being used by the Health District for their projects in developing food security initiatives.
Women in the surrounding community hearing about the "Honouring Ourselves" program by word of mouth requested a similar program again within which they could participate. Upon this request, a second program in the "Honouring Ourselves" series, entitled, "Illumination From Within," commenced in September 1998, with a life skills component, followed by a literacy component, and concluding with a certification as an office worker with computer skills. On June 5, 1999, the first group of talented women graduated from this program.
Our next endeavour was the commencement of another program entitled, "Transcendence To The Future," which was based upon the overwhelming number of women who had been on our waiting list, or who were referred to our organization by other service providers. In this program, the women who previously had suffered many atrocities in their lives, started to transform themselves by acknowledging their pain with honesty and a commitment to change. They began to achieve harmony, balance and freedom of thought. It was slow process rebuilding their lives; yet, they were willing to conquer life's challenges and heal their past. One of the women from this group has started a new greenhouse business at the James Smith Cree Nation. This initiative is doing well, and we consider it a tremendous success.
To meet the needs of many of our youth, Stardale also has undertaken a 3-phase program entitled, "Exploring Our Options." This was a cooperative project in collaboration with the East Side L.I.M.B., Human Resources of Canada, Melfort Ministerial, James Smith Cree Nation and Stardale. This project focused on education and community development.
In September, Stardale offered another program entitled, "Rediscovery of Self," which commenced with a 14-week life skills program. The format of the program concentrated on nurturing women and dealing with many sensitive topics. This program ended on December 17, 1999, as the women moved into two other programs entitled, "Framework For Change - ALAPS, an Aboriginal Family Literacy Program" and "Harmonious Learning," an individual one-on-one and group literacy/GED program. We are enthusiastic about the endless possibilities for the women as they begin this new course in their lives.