What was the initiative?

The development of a support group for refugee and newcomer mothers will aim to decrease the stress of navigating new settings. Self-growth, self-care, and self-advocacy will be encouraged to aid in their development to leading a life in Canada. The support group will be accessible, fill the gaps in services, offer emotional support and incorporate others who have had similar lived experiences.

What was the community connection?

When my mom came to Canada, she was alone with four kids. she had to navigate everything on her own. That was until she met a couple of women who also recently came to Canada. The three of them (including my mom) and their kids started getting together consistently. This supported my mom’s emotional, physical and mental well-being. Having a support network is important for an individual to flourish. I wanted to recreate that type of support for mothers coming into Canada. Navigating new territory is hard enough, no one should go through it alone.

What were some significant achievements?

The relationships we built as a community. Through the initiative, the mothers were connected to each other and various supports around the city. Also, I know for myself, I gained so many mothers during the 9 months I was in community.

How was it innovative?

I feel like in Ottawa we don’t have a program that supports mothers only. Most programs are “mommy and me” type of structure or focus only on one aspect of development. However, the mothers attending my program got to pick what and how they wanted to discuss topics/issues they face. We had a monthly “game” program where we would play bingo and some of them did not know what bingo was before that. Overall, I think it was innovative because it was completely run by the mothers and what they wanted to have in their space.

What is Hanan doing now?

I am still trying to plan out what I am going to do next and how I am going to take with me everything I learned while in community.