Mission
The Afghan Women’s Centre (AWC) of Montreal empowers socially isolated immigrant women within Montreal by creating programs according to their needs, facilitating self-development workshops, and promoting team-based projects.
The AWC is a community of immigrant women who strive to make positive changes in their lives by coming together and sharing their challenges, dreams, and goals. The AWC works with women on an individual and collective basis to help empower them to participate in and benefit from their communities, discover their place in society, and break the unique economic and sociocultural isolation that immigrant women face.
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The AWC recognizes the unique struggles brought by establishing oneself in a new country, especially as women – from struggles with learning the language(s), accessing employment and child care, intense feelings of loneliness and mental hardships, to not having their skills, knowledge, and contributions recognized in an unfamiliar environment.
Our goal is to provide opportunities for women falling into minority groups who otherwise would be forced to suffer these challenges alone, and to improve their welfare through community engagement and skill-building.
The AWC recognizes and understands the vulnerability of seniors as well, and responds by offering intergenerational activities of social exchange, transference of skills, and leadership development opportunities for older individuals.
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Improving our members' quality of life is at the core of our mission. That is why we take pride in giving support to our members, acting as a reference to public health services and Quebec's social systems. Our objective is to contribute to our members' well-being.
Improving our members’ quality of life is at the core of the AWC’s mission. We take pride in providing a support system for our members outside of the courses and activities we provide, acting as a reference to public health services and Quebec’s social systems, translating documents, and making phone calls on their behalf. The AWC’s objective is the same as the women that we support: we want a better life for those facing such a difficult transition, and the AWC works tirelessly to make that possibility a reality through our many services and projects.
The Afghan Women’s Centre works to give women a sense of belonging and a safe space for them to express themselves, as well as hope for a better future within Quebec’s society and system.
Objectives
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Mental: To provide information sessions to members & connect them to useful resources to build a strong community of trust & support
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Social: To put in place activities that will foster our members’ social skills and break their social isolation
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Financial: To provide immigrant and refugee women with opportunities that will allow them to find employment and be financially secure and empowered
The Afghan Women’s Centre works to give women a sense of belonging and a safe space for them to express themselves, as well as hope for a better future within Quebec’s society and system.
Activities
The AWC offers a variety of activities dedicated to seniors & racialized immigrant women in order to promote a healthier lifestyle and mental well-being. These activities include a walking group, Yoga classes, information sessions on health topics, information sessions about the legal rights, as well as the basic computer literacy, linguistic French & English classes to our members.
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The AWC also offers courses and workshops. All sessions are offered free of charge and, in addition, transportation costs are generally covered by the Centre. With an average attendance of 15-20 women per session, our courses and workshops provide many opportunities to meet people of various ethnic backgrounds and countries of origin (e.g. Iranian, Kurdish, Syrian, Chinese, Bangladesh, Punjabi, Hindou). For more information on these projects and services, click on "Projects and Services"
