CIWA Grapevine Newsletter - June 2016

Welcome to the Calgary Immigrant Women's Association's bi-monthly Grapevine Newsletter! 

Congratulations to CIWA's Matched Savings Circle Graduates

Immigrant Seniors in Action is an initiative that engages immigrant women over the age of 50, to be leaders in raising awareness of elder abuse among immigrant seniors and community members living in Calgary. The project is funded by Service Canada New Horizons for Seniors Program.

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Gerda R. Bloemraad Scholarship Fund Recipients

Mony Keo, Darartu Ahmed, Gerda R. Bloemraad and Wei Wei Teng

Mony Keo, Darartu Ahmed, and Wei Wei Teng were the recipients of Gerda R. Bloemraad Scholarship Fund at CIWA's AGM on June 21st. Gerda R. Bloemraad's Scholarship Fund aims to provide monetary assistance to CIWA clients or volunteers, who wish to further their education or commence a course at an accredited institution in a subject of their choice. 

Mony Keo first joined CIWA as a Girls Culture Club participant in 2010.  Currently, she is enrolled in the Labour Market Bridging for Volunteers: Interpretation and Translation program and in her free time, volunteers with the Girls Culture Club.  Following her graduation from high school last year, Mony enrolled in online courses to upgrade her English skills in order to commence her studies as a Health Care Aid in January 2017.  Her ultimate goal is to become a registered nurse.

Darartu Ahmed has been a CIWA client since 2012 as a Multicultural Girls in Action participant, and more recently, as a mentee in the Youth Mentorship Program.  Upon graduating from Grade 12 this June, Darartu will commence her library information technology studies at SAIT Polytechnique in September 2016.  Darartu, who comes from a family of nine, is super excited and proud that she will be the first person in her family to attend a post-secondary institution.

Wei Wei Teng earned the Volunteer of the Month Award at CIWA in August 2015 which is no wonder considering her amazing list of commitments including: CIWA reception support, interpretation, administration support for the Volunteer Program, facilitation for New Friends and Neighborhood Groups, and mentor with the Youth Mentorship Program.  Wei Wei is currently enrolled at Athabasca University in cost accounting where she is intending to pursue the Chartered Professional Accountant Program.

University of Calgary Continuing Education Scholarship Recipients

Anne Agbo and Angela Pantaleon were the recipients of the University of Calgary Contemporary Women's Scholarship Award. The awards were presented at the University's Continuing Education Convocation on June 15th. These scholarships aim to support the empowerment and educational pursuits of women with financial need.

Anne Agbo is an ambitious legal professional. She is a very recent resident of Canada. She was looking for an opportunity to upgrade her job skills so that she could successfully find permanent employment in Canada. This led her to participating in the Labour Market Bridging program at CIWA. 

In addition to her high level of English & French languages, Anne is a  lifelong learner; she has a PhD degree in Public International Law Public and International Relations from France.

Despite her outstanding legal background, Anne is struggling to find meaningful employment in Canada that utilizes her transferrable knowledge and skills; she is persistently working to achieve her ultimate dream, being a successful, independent individual in Canadian society.  This scholarship would give her the opportunity to hone her skills and give her an edge to compete in her professional field.

Angela came to Canada from the Philippines in 2009 as a caregiver leaving behind her husband and her daughter. She got her permanent residence in 2014 and was happy to reunite with her loved ones. Angela holds a degree in Business Administration from the Philippines and she carefully planned her steps to return to her professional field in Canada. She took English classes and computer training while working full time as a caregiver and providing care for her own family as well.

Angela is enrolled in CIWA's Office Administration Program and is one of the best students in the group, she is learning fast, she is very committed and is extremely organized. Angela is a lifelong learner and she plans to continue her education in Canada after graduating from the program; she is interested in Continued Education courses at U of C and this scholarship will be beneficial for her. It will support her in reaching her goal of building a successful professional career in Calgary.

CIWA's AGM

Thank you to all who attended CIWA's Annual General Meeting. Our annual report is available here. At the event, the new CIWA Board of Directors for 2016-2017 was announced.

Shairoze Damji - Board Chair
Praneeta Kumar - Board Vice Chair
Anh Tran - Treasurer
Alice Lam - Secretary
Sarah. J King-D'Souza QC - Past Chair
Murli Dharan - Director
Bin Wu - Director
Tolulope Donald-Oloyede - Director
Ursula Ducatel - Director
Shirley Turnbull - Director
Ray Wong - Director
Jade Duong - Director

Congratulations to CIWA's Low Literacy Program Graduates!

On June 23rd, CIWA hosted a graduation celebration for clients who have participated and completed low literacy programs. These programs include the Modular Employment program, the Retail Training program and the Food Service Industry Project. There were 106 clients who graduated from the program and of those 80 have found employment. We wish them well in their future endeavors! 

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