Join us for a workshop on: Health Literacy for Low Literacy Immigrant Women

This workshop will introduce you to a health literacy curriculum which was created based on the needs assessment carried out in early 2009 in low literacy ESL classes. The findings were that it is very challenging for immigrant women to navigate the health care system here in Alberta. The curriculum aims at providing information on how to access the system and preventative health, so is also an excellent resource for understanding the health care system.

When: Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Time: 9:00- 11:30 am

Where: Clareview Recreation Centre – 3804 – 139 Ave

Who would be interested:   ESL and literacy facilitators, community agency

staff  who work with immigrant populations, and health care providers

interested in materials written in clear language (less jargon)

Cost: $10.00 – Pay at the door, by cash or cheque (made to ‘The Learning

Centre Literacy Association’).

To Register:  contact Susan sskaret@telus.net or call 780-471-2598

Speakers:

Aminaz Lila is a Project Coordinator for the Health Literacy Curriculum for Low Literacy Immigrant Women with the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association. Has had international experience teaching ESL and has a Master’s in International Public Health. She has done some voluntary work in Rajasthan, India working on a child nutrition project.

Rabia Garewal is a Curriculum Developer/Instructor for the Health Literacy Curriculum for Low Literacy Immigrant Women with the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association. Has extensive teaching experience in the ESL setting here in Canada. She also taught in a high school in Pakistan for four years. Her own experiences as an immigrant have given her the capacity to relate to the newcomers.

This workshop is presented by the Northeast Edmonton Literacy Network.  We meet every second Wednesday in northeast Edmonton at various community locations.   For more details visit our blog at http://literacyfriendly.wordpress.com or call Susan at 780-471-2598.

• YMCA
• African Centre
• ABC Headstart (various sites)
• E4C – Alex Taylor School
• Sacred Heart Link
• Northeast Link
• The City of Edmonton, Community Services Neighbourhood and Community Development
• Centre for Family Literacy
• Ben Calf Robe society
• ArtStart  & Northeast Community Program
• Clareview Headstart
• Multicultural Health Brokers Coop
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton
• Partners for Kids and Youth
• Edmonton Public Library (various service points)
• Somali-Canadian Cultural Society of Edmonton
• ESL Centre- St. Joseph High School
• Catholic Social Services
• Edmonton Catholic Schools
• Edmonton Public School Board
• Project Adult Literacy Society (PALS)
• Learning Centre Literacy Association
• Edmonton John Howard Society

Our panel members  Judy Sillito, Lorette  Goulet, Killa (Kiki) Ibrahim, and Winnie Chow delivered an outstanding presentation and four breakout discussions (see previous post for bios). We thank them for sharing their experience with us and for giving us permission to share their powerpoint presentation (attached here Literacy Network Apr27).  Some of you were interested in follow-up contact with our panel members. Their information is as follows:

Judy Sillito — jsillito@emcn.ab.ca
Winnie Chow — wwchow@ualberta.ca (on maternity leave)
Lorette Goulet — 780-477-6648 (Ben  Calf Robe Society main phone number; ask for Lorrette)
Kiki’s contact information is forthcoming.

 This workshop will explore how agencies can support literacy and learning in an intercultural context for individuals who ‘walk in two cultures’, honouring their culture of origin while adapting to the culture in which they now live.    After an initial discussion and activities, we will divide into small groups, rotating to meet with each panel member who will present on their research and experiences, and share  ideas on best practices and the types of environments that best support learning.  The workshop will address all age groups (preschool, school age and adult).  

When:              Tuesday, April 27 from 9 – 11:30 am
Where:             Clareview Recreation Centre (3804 139 Ave)
Cost:                  $ 10.00 (to be paid at the workshop by cash or cheque (made out to The Learning Centre Literacy Association) – receipts will be given
To Register:    Call Susan at 780-471-2598  or email: sskaret@telus.net (Priority given to agency staff working in northeast Edmonton)

 Panel Members:

 Judy Sillito, Director of Language Services at Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, has been active in adult education in the areas of English as a Second Language (ESL), hope studies, and intercultural education for 28 years.  She has presented at numerous national, international, and academic conferences and keeps her love of teaching fed by doing workshops on intercultural communication and capacity building. Her graduate research examined the relationship between hope and adult ESL learners and that research was recently published in an edited text.  She draws from experience not only in the Canadian context, but from time spent travelling, working, and living with local peoples in Africa, Korea, and Latin America.

 Lorette  Goulet , Facilitator and Cultural Resource Person at the Ben Calf Robe Society, has worked in the helping field for over 20 years, mainly in the Aboriginal Community.  She started out her career as a youth worker and then moved into family court work and later in to  support work. She began facilitating parenting and life skill groups in 1993. Today she runs Traditional Parenting groups plus programs for women and men involved with Family Violence.  Lorette began her native spiritual journey around 15 years ago and she now a pipe carrier.  “I’ve had many opportunities to work with various elders from across Canada and have been blessed to receive several valuable teachings, this has enriched my life.  I find everyday to be an opportunity for learning”

 Killa Ibrahim from the Multicultural Health Brokers, is originally from Sudan, and came to Canada in 1998.  She is married with 3 children. Killa became involved in community work over 12 years ago facilitating women’s group and implementing youth programming.  Currently, she is co-facilitating with a team of Sudanese women a special “Rhymes that Bind Group” using traditional songs and dances to involve Sudanese children in learning their home languages.  The team is producing video tapes involving parents in sharing traditional stories to share with children and youth.  Her dream is for  the next generation of Sudanese children & youth to continue speaking Sudanese and be proud of that.”

 Winnie Chow is the project manager at the Community University Partnership for the Study of Children Youth and Families working with immigrant, refugee, and Indigenous communities in the area of early childhood.  Winnie brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from her years as a teacher, researcher and community organizer working with Indigenous and immigrant and refugee communities in British Columbia and Alberta.  She has spent the last decade using a community development participatory action research approach with Indigenous and racialised youth and families to make visible their hidden realities on topics such as the impact of immigrant girl care-giving on girls’ health; development of Indigenous research protocols with First Nations communities.

If you have any questions about this feature, please feel free to get in touch at mribich (at) epl (dot) ca.

Masha

• YMCA
• Goodwill
• Kara
• Ben Calf Robe Society
• Candora Society
• Sacred Heart Link Program
• Wecan Coop
• PALS
• E4C Headstart
• Bethel Church
• Boys and Girls Club
• Community Services
• Clareview Headstart
• GRIT Program
• Literacy Alberta
• Abbottsfield Youth Project (AYP)
• Partners for Kids and Youth
• Penny McKee Branch-Abbottsfield, Edmonton Public Library
• The Learning Centre

The attached powerpoint presentation gives an overview of the material we covered that morning. The clear language template and its appendices are also attached for reference. Michael Wallace did a fantastic job of facilitating and wrapping up his involvement with the Network (thank you, Michael!). Thanks also go out to the learners who stood up to share their literacy journeys with the group.

The workshop also included a hands-on component where participants applied the principles embodied in the clear language policy to their own print materials. The members of the Network are interested to hear how and if this work has continued in the different agency offices. If you have any feedback or stories you’d like to share on this topic, please feel free to add them here in the comments section.

Literacy_Network_workshop[1]

Clear Langauge Policy template – Final

Clear Language Appendix 1

Clear Language Appendix 2

 -      Bulletin boards?               – Brochures?

-      Posters?                           – Forms?

-      Signs?                              – Newsletters?

All these advertise agency services and programs and provide useful information to the general public. But how helpful are they to those with low levels of literacy?

 Using clear language reduces barriers and widens access to this information. An excellent way for agencies to champion clear language in their community is to embrace a Clear Language Policy.

 The Northeast Edmonton Literacy Network has developed a Clear Language Policy template. A copy of the template will be available to community agency staff attending our Literacy Network workshop on Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

 At the workshop you will:

•  Get a copy of the policy template
• Discuss ways to adopt and implement a Clear Language Policy
• Examine ‘good’ and ‘bad’ examples of print-based information

  The Literacy Network workshop will also launch two other new initiatives:

 1. The Literacy Network decal awarded to ‘literacy friendly’ agencies
Find out how your agency can become part of the literacy friendly community

 2. The Literacy Network blog
Join this action-oriented on-line community and learn about ideas and initiatives for creating literacy friendly environments in our community

 Workshop details:

Time:    9:00 am – 11:30 am
Date:    Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Venue:  Child and Family Services – North East Neighbourhood Centre, 14075 Victoria Trail
RSVP:   by calling Bobbi Jo at (780) 442-4971 by March 1 (register by March 1 and your agency will be entered in a draw for a Literacy gift bag from  the Library!)

• Homework Without Tears
  Thursday, November 5 6pm-7:30pm
  Abbottsfield Library
  Presented by Pas Paskaran, Instructor, NAIT
• Teaching Kids to be Safe and Responsible Online
  Thursday, November 12 5 6pm-7:30pm
  Abbottsfield Library
  Presented by Jody Crilly, Manager, Penny McKee-Abbottsfield Library, Edmonton Public Library
• Learning Styles
  Thursday, November 19  6pm-7:30pm
  Abbottsfield Library
  Presented by Wendy Peverett and Jennifer Munro, Centre for Family Literacy

Childcare was made available for all three sessions with help from Candora Society’s Discovery Centre. The workshops were largely promoted through Northeast school newsletters. This strategy proved to be successful — there was a good turnout for all three sessions and facilitators received positive feedback from parent participants. The Network has discussed the possibility of repeating this series at a future date. Stay tuned for more information!

Homework without Tears

Thanks, Lavonne

Thank you for visiting the Northeast Edmonton Literacy Network blog!

The purpose of this blog is to enhance the collaborative way in which the Northeast Edmonton Literacy Network operates. We are using the blog tool as both a collaborative workspace and forum for broader dicussion. Our aim is to keep the blog content up to date so that a wider community of organizations and literacy advocates can  access the lastest Network news, actions and initiatives. You’ll also be able to access public documents that we create such as PowerPoint presentations, meeting minutes, and images from our literacy walkabouts.

If you are visitor to this blog, please feel free to join our discussion through the comments feature. If you are member of the Northeast Edmonton Literacy Network and wish to actively participate in the blog, please contact Masha Ribich at mribich (at) epl (dot) ca for more information on how to sign up to contribute. For general information about the membership and activities of the Network, contact Susan Skaret, Learning Centre Literacy Association (Abbottsfield Mall), at sskaret (at) telus (dot) net.