1 / 46

Empowering Afghan Women Through Co-op Development in Immigrant Communities

Learn about the history of Afghanistan, the challenges faced by Afghan immigrants & refugees in BC, and the impact of Malalay Co-op in empowering women through economic independence and community building.

paulpwilliams
Download Presentation

Empowering Afghan Women Through Co-op Development in Immigrant Communities

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Co-op Development in Immigrant Communities Presenters: Melanie Conn, Devco & Gulalai Habib, Immigrant Services Society of BC/Malalay Co-op

  2. Afghanistan History • A landlocked country in the heart of Asia • Population around 22 million • Three names: -Aryana in antiquity -Khurasan in the medieval era -Afghanistan in modern times

  3. Culture and Ethnicity • 24 dialects • Dominant languages Dari (Farsi dialect) & Pashtu • Blend of 26 ethnic races • - ie. Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbecs, Hazars, Turkmen, Nuristanis and many others

  4. War and Human Losses • Over 32 years of intensive war & occupation • Over 2 million people killed • (20% children) • 3 million people internally displaced • 2-3% of the population disabled • Over 6,700,000 become refugees • Obliteration of infrastructure

  5. Life in refugee camps • Deprived of education • Poor nutrition • No legal protection • No citizenship rights or access to education • Dramatic decline of literacy & increase of child labour • Extremely rough environment, perfect for terrorist recruiting

  6. Afghan Immigrants & Refugees in BC • Afghans are one of largest groups of Government-Assisted refugees (GARs) in BC for the past four years: 26.4% • 47% of all Afghan clients settled in Burnaby in 2006 • Majority of single parent families are women who lost their husbands in war  

  7. Settlement Issues and Obstacles (1) • War trauma & depression • Low literacy • Language barriers • Financial dependence • Economic inequality • Marginalization

  8. Settlement Issues and Obstacles (2) • Raising children in an alien culture • Poor health conditions • Limited opportunities • Lack of culturally appropriate centres & other resources • Social isolation • Racial profiling since September 11th

  9. Malalay Co-op Beginnings: • 2003 • 20 women • 1300 volunteer hours • A community solution to move towards economic security

  10. Three focuses of Malalay: 1.  Develop the co-operative 2.     Develop and test an experiential learning model for new immigrant and refugee women 3. Identify policy and program recommendations to create an enabling environment for new immigrant & refugee women.

  11. “My dream of the Co-op is not only to be financially independent and prove that I have some skills to contribute, but also to regain my confidence and, above all, my dignity.”Zakia, Dec. 2004

  12. Diversity of Members • Language • Age • Ethnic background • Mental and physical ability • Language • Marital and social status • Rural and urban experience • Duration of settlement in Canada • Education

  13. Supporters Project Team • The Immigrant Services Society of BC • CCEDNet • Devco

  14. Financial supporters • Vancity Community Foundation • Status of Women Canada • Vibrant Burnaby • West Vancouver Unitarian Church • WomenFutures • BC Co-op Association

  15. In-kind contributions • Afghan-Canadian Women’s Network of BC • Immigrant Services Society of BC • City of Burnaby • Burnaby School District 41 • Burnaby Learning Network • Devco • BC Muslim Women Association • Housing Families in Need Society • BC Co-operative Association • Burnaby Food Co-operative • Individuals

  16. Lessons Learned 1. A co-op can be a powerful tool for immigrant and refugee women to become active participants in Canadian society as well as in their own community • Positive images of Muslim women • A bottom-up approach to development • Time-consuming

  17. 2. Role of the settlement worker • Bridge • Raise rights of members • Multi-skilled

  18. 3. Policy Barriers • Clawback • Need for multi-year funding

  19. Co-op Development Practice • Unique situation • Language • Informal co-operation • Settlement issues

  20. Co-op Development Practice • Governance • Finance • Operations • Lessons Learned

  21. Co-op Development Practice • Governance • Significance • Timeline

  22. Co-op Development Practice • Governance • Meetings • Quorum • Minutes • Board of Directors

  23. Co-op Development Practice • Finances • Knowledge • Trust-Building • Practice Handling Money

  24. Co-op Development Practice • Operations • Workspace • Equipment • Production • Income • Marketing • Business Consultant

  25. Lessons Learned 1. Applying the Co-op Model • Working with a Colleague • Interpretation • Translation • ESL, transportation

  26. 2. Role of Co-op Developer • Advisor • Teacher • Facilitator • Outsider

  27. 3. Women’s Participation • Cultural issues • Effect of war • Settlement issues • Need for Patience

  28. 4. Autonomy • Funding issues • Group issues • Feasibility issues

  29. Development is much more than material benefits, and is the sum of people’s own aspirations, efforts, and learning towards bettering themselves materially, socially, intellectually, and spiritually.

  30. “If we had started a sewing co-op ten years ago for Afghan women we would not need Welfare today”. Jamila, Oct. 2006

  31. D

More Related