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History
A group of Somali intellectuals, social workers, and elders realized the need
to establish a community based non-profit organization to serve the demands of
the increasing Somali population in British Columbia. The founders put
their resources together and started offering basic services. Government
agencies and some non-profit organizations supported the emerging organization.
The Organization
The organizational set up consists
of an Executive director, Board of directors, and supporting staff.
Youth and Sport Programs
Youth is the backbone of the
community. SCBC arranges different programs to meet their demands. The sport
activities include soccer, basketball, running, martial arts, gymnastics and
cultural orientation sessions. These games will not only confine in British
Columbia but against other teams from other providences. The secure
continuity of the sport activities the community is negotiating access to
indoor gymnasiums during the winter days.
Parent Education
A majority of the refugee parents
are either educated in their language or have no education. In Canada they need
to learn a new language and culture, here is where the need for parent
education arises. SCBC provides parenting classes that cover the following:
• How to deal with school rules and regulations.
• How to contact school staff.
• How to answer school forms and letters, if the child is
sick or absent.
• How to raise your children in a multi (cultural, lingual
and ethnic) environment.
• Parent rights and obligations in a child's education and
homework.
• Intra-family communication-how to deal with your new
neighbors.
• ESL and computer foundation classes
Senior Programs
Seniors are looked at differently in their new home; the social structure and
family relationships are dramatically changing mainly with the younger
generations who are learning the mainstream culture. Seniors hardly know what
is happening with their children and grandchildren. SCBC's role is to find a
room for the seniors where they can feel admired, socialize, and have their
education and nutrition programs continue. These programs keep them vibrant and
contributive to the community. The senior program is held every other
Saturday, it provides food, games and social gathering among elderly. Volunteer
Nutritionists from the City of Surrey, and Volunteer Senior health students
from Kwantlen College University of Surrey are invited to give basic health
education sessions. SCBC provides interpreters in Somali, Italian, Arabic and
Swahili languages. Physical health instructors train the seniors in making
appropriate body exercises on a weekly basis. Field trips are also arranged to
break the life filled with monotony as a recreation and routine changing
process. The seniors benefit from other related projects, such as listening to
recorded health materials from the Internet in SCBC computer lab. Many of these
seniors are helped with social and medical referrals.
Housing Assistance
British Columbia's moderate
climate attracts many Somalians to make their home in British Columbia. SCBC is
establishing a working relationship with: British Columbia Housing Authority,
Muslim Housing Authority and other transitional housing agencies in BC.
SCBC addresses refugee's needs for subsidized housing without
discrimination. SCBC staff helps processing all forms needed and
assisting the new refugees to go through the screening process until they get
permanent or temporary housing assistance.
Counseling and Case Management
SCBC case managers study the
concerns of the clients and provide appropriate solutions, referrals, and
assistance based on the need type:
• Immigration requirements
• Health and hospital referral
• Filling out forms and applications
• Translation and interpretation
• DHSH requirements
• Cultural and behavioral orientations
After School Program
Many Somali children did not have
a schooling opportunity before coming to the Canada. They are graded based on
their age not academic level. The need to help the child develop language
skills and an academic background is indispensable to the future of the
children.
The program has the following advantages:
• Bilingual staff in English and Somali
• Emphasis on academic success
• Building students' confidence
• Cultural comparison " Canada and Somalia "
Parent School Connection project
The schools like to give some time
to the parents of their students but due to lack of resources, it is difficult
to get funds for bilingual staff to communicate with the parents. This project
is setup to meet this need without funds from the school system. Most
parents are either illiterate or educated in Somali language and are not able
to communicate with the school. Furthermore, families may depend on their
children as the sources of information, when it comes reading the report cards
and school correspondence. In many occasions, it happened that the parents
received the incorrect information. The need was identified for a third party,
a neutral stakeholder, to come in and help both the school and the parents, and
also find solutions for the needs of the students. The SCBC is in this role as
a grass roots and community based organization, to think about the future of
the up coming generation and make them useful to the community instead of a
burden.
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