Scarborough Child and Family Life Centre

16 – 3 guests (Sandra, Dorothy and Tony) + 2 speakers (Valerie and Jennifer) + 11 members.

 

 

President Courtney introduced the two speakers as Valerie being from the Cree Nation and Jennifer being from the Mohawk Nation and they were going to speak about the “Scarborough Child and Family Life Centre” which addresses the many needs of the indigenous people.

The centre was started as a one room centre by Ken Richard, a Maiti person. The organization has since grown and now consists of 5 different programs, i) Free Afterschool Program ii) Early on/early years programming iii)Youth Programming iv) Community and Cultural Programming  and v) Summer Camps. All the programs are grounded in indigenous culture and traditions. After School Program includes help with homework, healthy snacks, arts and crafts, theater and physical literacy. Early on Program consists of activities for children up to 6 years old and their parents or care givers. Youth Program is for Aboriginal youth of ages 13 to 29. It includes education, skill building, tutoring and training for jobs. Community and Cultural Programming consists of celebrating indigenous events such as winter solstice and traditional workshopFinally, summermer Camps are organized foe kids of different ages where they learn traditional craft making among others.

The talk elicited a lot of questions from the members of the club which indicated the high degree of interest in the talk.  The presentation was interesting as well as informational. Basil thanked them and likened their activities to that of Rotarians.