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Indo-Canadian Women's Association |
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Millwoods Welcome Centre for Immigrants | |
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Website: www.icwa-char.org | |
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Contact: Miriam Thomas - President | |
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Phone: (780) 490-0477 Fax: (780) 466-6594 | |
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Email: miriamicwa@gmail.com | |
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Hours of Operation: | |
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Membership Requirements: Number of Members
$2 annually for seniors and students / $5 for adults
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Services Provided:
· Settlement services (orientation and information and referral to community resources) · Employment
programs (assessment of skills; career options; cover letters and
resume writing, and job market resources, career and employment
councelling) · Computer literacy, education and training · Women’s support group · Outreach services · Information · Referral · ESL · Canadian citizenship classes · An English language course · Computer workshops · A seniors life skills class | |
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The Indo-Canadian Women’s Association (ICWA)
was established in 1984 to meet the wide spectrum of needs in the South
Asian community (legally defined as immigrants from Bangladesh, India,
Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), one of the fastest growing immigrant
populations in Canada. While the Association’s programs are designed
for this diverse group, its doors are open to anyone who needs help,
regardless of ethnicity or language, religious or political
affiliation. In addition to South Asians, many other ethnic groups
(including European, South and Central American, Koreans, Vietnamese)
use its services.
As
a non-profit organization, the ICWA is committed to full participation
of immigrant and visible minority women and men in the economic,
social, and political life of Canada. Its objectives are to help
ethnic minorities and immigrant women integrate into Canadian society;
to raise newcomers’ economic status in Canadian society by providing
business and language skills; to help newcomers connect with
educational, legal, health, and social services through referral and
counselling; to help seniors overcome language and cultural barriers
and provide emotional support during difficult times; to help
immigrants and ethnic youth overcome conflicts in the home and the
outside world; and to provide newcomers with orientation and
information to promote cultural harmony.
Programs
and services are available in Arabic, English, Farsi, Hindi, Mandarin,
Punjabi, Spanish, Swahili, and Urdu and include settlement services
(orientation and information and referral to community resources),
employment programs (assessment of skills; career options; cover
letters and resume writing, and job market resources), computer
literacy, education and training, and seniors programs. Clients in
2004-05 came from forty-two countries of the world.
Services
for seniors include counselling services for senior women, an English
language course funded by Edmonton Community Adult Learning Association
(ECA), computer workshops, a Seniors Life Skills Class, and a health
education campaign for South Asian seniors. Approximately one hundred
seniors are enrolled in the Association’s programs.
The
Association has two full-time staff members and three part-time staff
members, as well as ten volunteers. Services may be accessed in person
(Millwoods Welcome Centre for Immigrants) or by telephone (462-6924).
The
Indo-Canadian Women’s Association liaises with other government
agencies to provide cultural perspectives and advocate for the South
Asian community. ICWA also cooperated with the Prairie Centre of
Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration to produce The
Experiences of South Asian Immigrant Seniors Living in Edmonton,
Alberta: Report to the Community released in October 2004. The study
will assist in integrating South Asian seniors into existing and
potentially new services in Edmonton.
ICWA
was also recently selected by Alberta Human Rights Commission to be one
of twenty participating organizations for their Provincial Community
Capacity Building Project.
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