Programs & Services > Community and Neighbourhood Development > 10th Anniversary
Community and Neighbourhood Development 10th Anniversary
Salma Sarour - former Building Bridges Co-ordinator
What are you doing?" someone asked three people working
beside a building under construction. The first replied, "Stone-cutting." The
second smiled, "Putting in time until something better comes
along." The third person paused and said simply, "I'm
building a city.
Unknown Origin
Building Bridges, a 2004-2007 CND program, was created to address the specific issues of women and youth of the Horn of Africa (HOA) communities (Eritrean, Ethiopian, Somali and Sudanese) living in Lawrence Heights and Scarborough. Workshops and Video Learning Circles were major components of the three year program.
When Salma Sarour became Building Bridges Coordinator in the third year, she added three important new elements to the already successful project: a cultural talent show for the youth, sewing and cooking classes for the women and a graduation ceremony to celebrate the participants' accomplishments in the program.
One of the many concerns Building Bridges tackled was the "generation gap" which is often a cause of difficulty during the adolescent years. It is exacerbated when youth and parents also face cultural adjustments.
At the last graduation ceremony, the youth performed the dances of their HOA heritage that they learned as part of Building Bridges. The final dance of the performance, explained a young woman, was traditional with a modern twist. And so it is, symbolic in that dance, that the youth adapt the old to fit the new.
Originally from Sudan, Salma remembered the strength of cooperative relationships in the Horn of Africa, "Your family helps, your neighbour helps. The whole community." She compared life in Canada, "Here is it difficult to have connections with neighbours but I have some. I am trying to adopt some of what I had in my life when I was young."
With an astute understanding of the women she was working with, Salma knew the importance of needlework and sewing classes. It was easy for women to talk and socialize during the class. When making something together, sharing came naturally. Learning a new skill or improving on an old one built confidence. Achieving more than they thought possible, the women realized how much potential they had.
"They didn't know each other, but as time passed, everybody is a friend of everybody and helping each other," said Salma.
The women were not just knitting warm scarves and hats, as practical as that is for a Canadian winter. And they weren't just making things to display at the graduation ceremony, as proud and excited as they were about their handiwork. What they were doing, put simply, was building a community.
by Jane Schmidt
- Kim Hinton - CND Manager
- Michele Lupa - former CND Manager
- Deborah Konecny - Family Are Important Resources Co-ordinator
- Naga Ramalingam - CND Community Development Worker
- Abdirahman Sabriye - Community Development Worker
- Salma Sarour - former Building Bridges Co-ordinator
- Shokofeh Dilmaghani - CND Community Development Worker
- Sophia Ali - GUHD Co-ordinator
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