Community Vitality Update: London InterCommunity Health Centre
Community Vitality Update: London InterCommunity Health Centre
In 2024, London InterCommunity Health Centre’s “Women of the World” Childcare Provision project received a $63,000 Community Vitality Grant. The program supports the healthy integration of newcomer women as they navigate the challenges of settling in London. Recently, we received the following update that speaks to the impact the project is making.
Written by Selma Tobah, Community Development Worker at London InterCommunity Health Centre.
Successes
Since receiving the London Community Foundation Vitality Grant, we have been able to hire newcomer women as childminders for our Women of the World program. In doing so, we have been able to sustain our Yazidi and Arabic Speaking women's groups as without the provision of childcare, we would be unable to run the groups. In addition, we've been able to expand the attendance of our Afghan and Multicultural groups with women who previously felt unable to attend, now joining with the addition of childcare. An example of how the childcare program has improved attendance is the Yazidi group which we tried unsuccessfully to run without childcare. The Yazidi women's group runs twice a month on Friday evenings and we have about 45 attendees (women and children). The childcare program has quickly become the highlight of the group with the children looking forward to the program. Without the provision of childcare to the Yazidi group, we had 6 women in attendance.
We have also been able to adhere to the intention behind the grant, hiring newcomer women who want to work in the childcare sector in Canada. The team that we have hired is passionate, hardworking, and dedicated to the mission of the program. They provide intentional childcare programming that is appropriate to the ages and needs of the children in attendance.
Challenges
The casual nature of the work made staff hiring and retention difficult in a way we had not anticipated. We went through two rounds of hiring before we were able to hire a team of 5 childcare providers. In our first round we initially hired two newcomer women, one of which afterwards resigned a few months later after finding full time work. We were also intentional in looking to hire women who were newcomers themselves, had experience working with children in their countries of origin, and/or wanted to work with families and kids in settling their careers in Canada. This narrowed our pool of potential hires considerably, making it challenging to find suitable candidates. The delay in hiring also delayed starting up our Arabic Speaking group which we were finally able to start in April of 2025.
Looking Forward
We are looking forward to continuing to build the team as we have turnover in the childcare roles. We currently have a solid group that has been with us for the majority of 2025 and we are still able to continue to provide childcare for our groups. The current hires have also acquired a better understanding of the families in attendance enabling them to better respond to the needs of the children in their groups, planning activities that keep them safe, engaged, and entertained. We look forward to being able to continue to support our WOW groups through the provision of childcare, and support newcomer women in their pursuit of employment in Canada.
Meet the Team
Waheeda Shah has previously assisted Wow childcare activities as a volunteer and she comes back to the role in a formal capacity. Waheeda came to Canada from Afghanistan and has her ECE from Fanshawe. She's worked in multiple childcare settings over the last few years and has 2 beautiful children.
Ivon Nino has volunteered with the WOW team over the last year. She joins us with diplomas as a community services worker and a supportive care assistant. She also has extensive experience as a social worker in Colombia. She has 2 beautiful daughters, and is a strong and brave example for them. She loves working in the service sector and helping others has always been a priority.
Palak Sonalia has almost completed her ECE Fanshawe. Palak joins us having worked for many years as teacher in India. She is passionate about creating safe, fun, and engaging environments for children. Palak speaks English, Hindi, and Gujrati. She has been in Canada for the last 20 months and is working on bringing her family here to join her.
Pilar Giron Gomez was a teacher for multiple years in Spain and is currently working as a Spanish/Portuguese interpreter. Pilar is studying to become a settlement worker to support newcomer families integrate in Canada.
Grace Musyoka is originally from Kenya and has a background and experience in pediatric nutrition, supporting children's developmental needs in multiple hospitals and health care settings. She is currently studying Health Care Administration Management at Fanshawe. She loves exploring different cuisines from around the world and experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen.
Isabella Sanchez was born in Bogota, Columbia and is currently studying Psychology at Western University. She is passionate about community development and supporting immigrant experiences and advancing mental health initiatives. She aspires to build a career that focuses on social impact, creating meaningful opportunities, and centres the wellbeing of newcomer families.