Important Results from the Multicultural

Volunteer Project (Oct – Nov 2005)

The 411 Seniors Centre’s Multicultural Volunteer Project (MVP), funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, provided a venue for ethnic-minority seniors to share their knowledge and experiences through the delivery of culturally sensitive health promotion workshops throughout the Lower Mainland.

From January to August 2005, a total of 29 workshops were implemented as part of the MVP. Workshops were attended by 544 people; 317 in the Punjabi community and 227 in the Latin American community and were held in eleven community centers in the Lower Mainland.

The workshops in the Punjabi community were facilitated by Surjit Lalli, Mohinder Kaur Sidhu and Saroj Sood. In the Latin American community the workshops were facilitated by Zoila Salazar, Ana Dominguez and Julia Garcia. These volunteers were trained in December 2004 and gave workshops in the following subjects: Nutrition, Falls Prevention, Mental Health and Stress Reduction, Healthy Heart and Physical Activity.

A flexible design allowed the workshops to be combined with ongoing programs and activities. For instance, 35-minute workshops were presented after the lunch programs at the South Granville Seniors Centre and the Newton Community Centre, and after ESL classes at Kiwassa Neighbourhood House and South Vancouver Neighbourhood House, and before a seniors’ dinner at Trout Lake Community Centre.

The Punjabi and Latin American volunteers facilitated the workshops in their languages. They also created a support system for each other. Peer education in this project proved an efficient model for ethnic seniors.

The project will wind down by the end of October. In the meantime, a final report, evaluation, and “toolkit” are being developed for community organizations.

~Marta Gloria De la Vega