CULTURAL BRIDGES ASSOCIATION

Mission statement of CBA

The Cultural Bridges Association has been active since October 2002, and became a registered charity in February 2006.

Its mission statement is to advance education by educating immigrants on their rights under Canadian law and by educating the public regarding racial equity and human rights issues.

The outline of activities of the Cultural Bridges Association are as follows:

Public education
Conscious –raising activities
Educational Courses
Legal Services
Cultural promotion programs towards integration
Family counselling
Support services for women, children and youth

Legal Sevices

CBA sees it as duty to provide legal referral for new immigrants and refugees in two main areas. First, on their arrival to Canada and second during their period of accommodation and climatization in this country.

Cultural promotion program

CBS recognizing the important of cultural work. CBS believes this area should be used as level for promoting constructive integration of refugees and immigrants and not as a barrier to this development. facilitating conference workshops, and panel discussions. The aim is to engage participants.

Family counselling

Immigrants coming from in Canada face a multitude of marital difficulties. The number of divorces is on the rise among them. In most cases the reasons that lead to separation, root in the change of environment for the couples and the lack of preparation or willingness on the part of the espouses( in particular the men) to accommodate to these changes. It is unfortunately the children who are mostly under pressure in broken-up families. In our view it is imperative that something is done to alleviate this distressing situation. Unfortunately, either because of language barriers or the difficultly of Canadian family counsellor to comprehend the intricate cultural or ethical (and often inadmissible) reasons for the break-up of Immigrant families, the help they receive through available channels is not adequate for them. To compensate for this shortcoming we deem it necessary that certain steps should be made. CBS sees itself a reliable source of help for many Immigrant families who are caught up in family distress.

Support services for women

As we pointed out above, often the Immigrant and refugee women face in comparison with their male counterparts greater hardship in this country. Their unequal position in the family, their relative relegation for employment opportunities, and constant abuse and insult or battering they have put up with in the family, are among their commonest predicaments. In our view, a special line of activities should be carried out to promote the position of Immigrant and refugee women in Canada and to countervail violation that are made against them. Furthermore, it is likewise important to draw the public attention to the plight of refugees and immigrant women and in return turn the public moral support into tangible concrete aids for these women. Also it is necessary to channel individual, and in some cases negative, objections of refugee and immigrant women into a progressive and constructive protest action for their own benefits.

Our services in this area are:

· Providing counseling and advocacy to women and children who have experienced domestic violence, and to refugees with a wide range of issues including trauma, poverty, without statues, and in conflict with the law.

· Providing information and referrals regarding, legal advocacy, crisis support.

· Providing information, form filling, advocacy, counselling and referral services.

· Providing individual emotional support and counselling for abused women

· Organized workshops to families who had been displaced from their homes

· Organized workshops and conferences to promote and facilitate the integration of new comers into Canadian society

· Running talk shows on social issues regarding Women, Youth and children’s rights

· Collaborating with social services, community agencies, and family members to ensure the safety of the child

· Facilitating meetings and support groups

Public education

· Running radio and TV programs, setting –up of courses on Canadian Family Law, Children’s Law, Constitutional Law, individual rights, Civil right, Setting –up of courses on Canadian Labor Laws, Setting –up courses on Supportive laws for women, setting –up courses on child-upbringing and family, on various types of family, on Gay and lesbians'rights.

Conscious –raising activities

Holding of monthly speeches on current political and social issues, distribution of pamphlet and other material regarding integration, running talk shows in this respect.