Hi, I’d like to share with you a wonderful experience running a six week program for Vietnamese Women last year (from mid November to mid December). This program was one of our new initiatives working with the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) community, as part of our community building activities.
The main focus of the program was primarily on Women and Self care. A range of activities and guest speakers presenting topics were selectively chosen to "attract" people’s interest eg. Women, Family and Self-Care, Safety in the Home, Healthy Living, Protect your vision, Speech Development in Bilingual Children, Care for your feet, Relaxation, Gentle Exercise, Crafts and, of course, End of Year celebration!
After going through all the planning and preparation, sending out flyers and community announcements, I had a very tiny "hope" to have… a maximum of six women to keep this program going. Well, we never know what will happen with group work, do we? Sometimes lots of time and energy is spent yet the response can be very minimal! So, I just relied on "my luck".
To my surprise, the number of women attending the group varied from sixteen to twenty per session. In a supportive and friendly atmosphere, women listened to presentations from guest speakers, felt free to discuss their concerns, share their experiences and have some good laughs together.
The session on relaxation (by Robin Bart) along with soft music was greatly enjoyed, as for most women it was their first time practising some relaxation techniques. Not to forget the Craft session (by Sanja Cosic) followed by a big lunch on the last day. Women were making a Christmas wreath with lots of fun and joy. They were also offered a Gambler’s Help show bag with information about our service at the end of the program.
The group found the program very beneficial. For them, it was an opportunity to know more about interesting things, to enhance their self-confidence, and perhaps for the first time, to consider the importance of self-care. "This program is very useful, we learned a lot of new things, we feel more okay about taking care of self now, as it will help us to look after our family better"- women said, "we have lots of fun as well and hope to have more programs next year"….
How wonderful to hear this feedback from the group! All the efforts I have put in was highly rewarded by these words. They are to me much sweeter than chocolate and lollies, more beautiful than roses and violets, and much more rewarded than any medal or certificate of appreciation.
Thank you to all of our guest speakers, and every one in our team who contributed to the program, and thank you to all the women who participated. Without your participation, this program would not be this successful!
