You are here

Home » A to Z Directory » Council for Ontario

Communities in the Modern Era... Is it Necessary to Belong?

| Council for Ontario
Region:
Toronto
Start Date:
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Start Time:
1:00 PM
Location:
Arts and Letters Club, 14 Elm St., Toronto

This event is being presented by the Engaging Jamat Initiative (EJI) of the Council for Ontario. Jamati and non-Ismaili family members aged 35 to 55 will have an opportunity to build personal and professional connections while exchanging ideas in one of Canada’s historic cultural sites on Sunday, April 13 at the Arts and Letters Club (14 Elm St., Toronto) from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Dr. Zulfikar Hirji, associate professor of anthropology at York University, and co-author and co-editor of The Ismailis: An Illustrated History, will explore the benefits of community participation, positive influence and meaningful interactions. Dr. Hirji’s interests include how human societies articulate, represent and perform understanding of self, community and other. This event will be followed by a reception. Please click here to register.

The Girls Mentorship Program in Ontario

Council for Ontario Tuesday, April 8, 2014 Toronto

The Girls Mentorship Program in Ontario (Information Article Version)

Overview

The Girls Mentorship Program, offered by the Council for Ontario’s Women’s Portfolio, is the only one of its kind in Canada designed to effectively address the needs of female youth by providing a forum for holistic interventions in terms of life and success skills.  Mentees are paired with mentors, young Ismaili professional women, who are committed to supporting female youth in their critical years of development and exploring life options. Each relationship caters to the unique needs of the mentee and is supported by a highly trained management team. The program includes parents as part of the process which ensures that the mentees have the support they need at home. A pilot Girls Mentorship Program was launched as a Golden Jubilee initiative in 2007 and since then it has continued to evolve.

Current Programs

Currently, there are three programs running simultaneously covering several geographic areas in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.

In Ontario, the 8th Mentorship Program cycle recently concluded and the graduation ceremony was held on March 1, 2014. This has been the largest program launched and included 42 mentor-mentee pairs from Etobicoke, Brampton, Mississauga, Kitchener and Hamilton.

Management Team

The program management team comprises of project leads for each sector, and team leads who support groups of five mentors each. Mentors and project team members are  young Ismaili professional women who typically contribute 1 - 3 years of volunteer service in their role as mentors, team leads and project leads with the program. One of the key attributes of the management team is its ability to gather feedback and implement changes to ensure the continuous evolution and sustaining quality of the mentorship programs.

Workshops

The Girls Mentorship Program includes a series of workshops for mentors, mentees and their parents. Mentee workshops are based on life skills development to provide the necessary support to help mentees set goals and make progress towards achieving educational goals and career aspirations.  Mentor workshops provide support to the mentors in their role in addition to contributing towards their personal and professional development.  Workshops for parents are targeted at enhancing understanding and communication with their adolescent children.

Successes

Two success stories from the present cycle include:

A mentee immigrated to Canada less than three years ago. She had never been to school in her home country and could barely speak English. She did not think she could succeed in an English environment to achieve anything significant and felt  her prospects were limited to working in a factory. Her relationship with her mentor inspired her to set a goal to get her driver’s license so as not to depend on her family members for transportation. Her mentor supported her to understand the rules of driving and helped her use the Internet to learn the vocabulary for her driving test. The mentee successfully passed her G1 and G2 driving tests in her first attempts.  Her English has improved considerably, boosting her confidence to break through the barriers she faces.

One mentor had two sisters as her mentees, whom she guided in their career prospects by connecting them with lawyers to learn more about their field. She also encouraged the mentees to maintain high marks for pursuing post-secondary education, to look for jobs that provide better skill sets than working at fast food restaurants, for example, and to pursue their personal interests. One of the mentees had talent in photography and her mentor connected her with a professional photographer. She accompanied the professional photographer to a wedding shoot and some of the photos she took were used. She has now applied to Black’s to pursue her hobby.

In short, the Girls Mentorship Program has been able to achieve its objectives due to the remarkable dedication of the volunteer mentors, who have consistently adhered to the program requirement of meeting their mentees, in person, for a minimum of one hour every week. This personal interaction has helped to strengthen the bond between each mentee and her mentor, which has allowed the mentees to explore their lives in new ways and to grow on a personal level. In most cases this relationship continues after the program ends, and in some cases has gone on for more than five years. Strict vigilance and support from the management team has upheld and sustained the quality of the program over time and space. 

Seamless Service Delivery by Ismaili Volunteers at the 56th Imamat Day Event in Ontario

| Council for Ontario
Region:
Toronto
Published Date:
Tuesday, April 8, 2014

This year’s 56th Imamat Day event in Ontario, held on June 30, unified our continuously growing Jamat and its thousands of dedicated volunteers, with the common goal of building unity and community.  This auspicious day and diligently planned event allowed over 20,000 Jamati members to come together from across Ontario.

Since our last event, which took place five years ago at the International Centre, changes in the Jamat’s needs have called for a more skilled and specialized volunteer workforce to deliver quality service.  Furthermore, this was the first time that younger members of the Jamat were able to participate collectively and experience our vibrant community.  Khushiali celebrations Convenor Karim Haji and Vice Convenor Karim Macklai worked within the governance structure of the Council for Ontario and led the Khushiali Planning Core Team, which deployed 2,977 registered volunteers to support the festivities.

 

This year, all volunteers wore navy blue golf shirts to achieve a common look and feel and exemplified the principles of unity and cohesion by coming together as one body in the provision of service to the Jamat.  Mukhi Saheb Karim Macklai says, “We did not want to give any special privileges to one group of volunteers over the other so with the intention of unity in community, we made it so that all resources could be found under one banner of Ismaili Volunteers”.  Not only were volunteers equipped with a new uniform, they were also well prepared on how to enhance hospitality for the Jamat, having participated in a series of training sessions.  A key focus of the Khushiali celebrations was to foster happiness and harmony among the Jamat.  Volunteers worked tirelessly to create memorable moments for the Jamat through quick responses to queries and complaints, going the extra mile and making it all about service and the satisfaction of the Jamat.  

 

A few perks were also provided to the volunteers who worked so diligently to serve the Jamat at the Khushiali celebrations.  This year’s Volunteer Resource Centre featured a ‘relaxation room’ that allowed volunteers to rejuvenate their spirits by receiving fifteen-minute massages from a physiotherapist.  Extremely impressed, volunteers said this made them feel appreciated and gave them energy to continue performing their duties with excellence. “Not only was it important to treat the Jamat well but this year we made sure not to forget about our volunteers,” says Mukhi Saheb Karim Macklai.  

Rays of Light: a glimmer amidst Ontario’s harsh winter storm

| Council for Ontario
Region:
Toronto
Published Date:
Friday, April 4, 2014

As Southern Ontario attempted to recover from one of the worst ice storms to hit the area in years, Toronto welcomed Rays of Light: Glimpses into the Ismaili Imamat to the International Centre. The warmth, fervour, and togetherness generated by Rays of Light were a welcome contrast to the nip and pall of the storm outside.

A large portion of the Ontario Jamat visited the exhibit over the winter holidays and into the New Year. The exhibit focused on the mandate of the Ismaili Imamat to improve the quality of life of people around the world and provided a brief history of the fifty years of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s role as Imam.

Visitors were inspired and humbled by the experience. Most striking were the exhibit’s displays of the breadth of the Imamat's endeavours and the work’s momentous impact. One Jamati member described the exhibit as “a life altering experience.”

Each visitor was touched differently by Rays of Light. Many relived memories that some of the extraordinary photographs revived. Some saw the experience as an opportunity to increase their knowledge of the work of the Imamat institutions and to engage in dialogue regarding the subject. The Enlightenment Dome marked the culmination of this moving experience for many visitors who sat there in contemplation with tears in their eyes.

It was fitting that Rays of Light coincided with the New Year, as it marked the beginning of what, Inshallah, will be a momentous year by the Imamat institutions in Canada, as the new Ismaili Centre Toronto, the Aga Khan Museum, and their Park on Wynford Drive progress towards completion. Indeed, Rays of Light has been a bridge between the past and the future, recounting the rich history of the Imamat globally and offering a bright beacon of hope for many generations to come.

 

Video of Hazar Imam's Lecture at Brown University

| Council for Ontario
Region:
Toronto
Start Date:
Monday, March 17, 2014
Start Time:
After Jamati Ceremonies

A video of Mawlana Hazar Imam delivering the 88th Annual Ogden Lecture on International Affairs at Brown University on Monday, March 10 will be shown on Friday, March 14 at all Jamatkhanas after Jamati ceremonies.

Early Childhood is a Critical Time for Brain Development

| Health Board
Region:
Toronto
Published Date:
Friday, January 24, 2014

The early years of life are the most crucial years for the healthy growth and development of a child.  A critical period of development in a child’s early life is from the time a baby is growing in its mother’s womb to age six. 

Early healthy brain development is vital for a child’s future well-being as it contributes to learning new skills, controlling behaviour, and promoting good health.  In order to promote this type of healthy development a nurturing and supportive environment is essential.

What can parents do to provide a nurturing and supportive environment for their child? Parents can take an active role in the healthy development of their child’s brain by playing, cuddling, comforting and creating a stimulating environment. For example, parents can stimulate their child’s senses by letting them experience new sounds, foods and objects. 

As babies mature, monitoring their growth and development is critical for early intervention.  Ask your health care professional to use screening tools to assess your child’s development along with his or her vision, hearing, speech, language and motor skills.  Addressing concerns sooner rather than later can have a significant positive impact on a child’s optimal development. 

Another key component to early childhood development (ECD) is early childhood education.  The Aga Khan Development Network strongly promotes early childhood education and states: “By the time a child reaches school age, most key brain wiring, language ability and cognitive foundations have been set in place.  The early years are critical in the formation of intelligence, personality, social behaviour and physical development. Investment in the early years offers outstanding returns – both in human and financial terms.”

It’s never too early to start thinking about saving resources to plan for your child’s future education and well-being.

The Ismaili Council for Ontario offers a number of early childhood development programs, including:

  • SEED, Supportive Environments and Experiences for Development
  • School readiness programmes for pre-Kindergarten children
  • Reading and storytelling programmers in Jamatkhanas
  • Music programmes for young children
  • Monthly webinar programmes for parents and caregivers
  • ECD tip sheets through the weekly Al-Akhbar
  • BUI pre-primary programme
  • Early Childhood Development fair