CECA

CECA provides services to the community in various avenues. The following are a list of services that CECA carries for members.

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  1. Youth Development

The Calgary Ethiopian Community Association main focus at present is to assist the Ethiopian youth born and/or grew up in Canada to come together and establish an alliance that encourage networking and peer to peer support and development. The association wants to be attached to the youth and act as a mentor for them to be educated, responsible, law-abiding and respectable members of the city. By fostering a close relationship with the youth, the association hopes to decrease the number of youth exposed to various kinds of social problem.
 

  2. Senior Program:

Some members are becoming senior citizens and CECA has designed a program to adapt the needs of these individuals. CECA encourages some frontline volunteers of the association to organize a coffee ceremony and invite senior citizens so that they can interact with others. By way of free membership and other initiatives, senior citizens will be encouraged to come out and stay in touch with community members. 

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  3. Inter-community Dialogues

The Ethiopian immigrants in Canada represent different ethnic groups and nationalities within Ethiopia. Inter-community dialogues and group forums are, therefore, important to promote unity and harmony among these groups. CECA frequently organizes such dialogues, and works with local leader to promote discussion and facilitate peaceful co-existence among various groups. It also works with local government bodies to ensure that decision-making is an inclusive process that builds upon consensus among the diverse community members. Further, the association tries to use elders as mediation committee that assists in mediating group disputes. This is one of the main activities of the association that needs to be done on a continuous basis as long as new members arrive as immigrants to the City of Calgary. As part of the larger ethno-cultural community in Calgary, CECA also participates in key Afro-centric events.

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  4. Working with Calgary Police
 

As part of the Calgary Police Service Community outreach program, CECA maintains a strong tie with the Community Liaison Officer. This mutually beneficial relationship helps the Police handle culturally sensitive issues as they arise within the community.

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  5. Support Youth Sport and Art

CECA organizes and supports sport and art training for youth and children (both girls and boys). The program runs by volunteers and members of the association. Community-based sport and art is a program that brings people together. The sport and art programs run outdoors in summer and indoors in winter. The parents of many of these children do not have the financial capacity to join the programs offered by high-end sport and art clubs offered in the city. These community supported sport and art programs are, therefore, vital to provide the required mental and physical health and strength, as well as self-esteem enhancement and self-discipline to these children.

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  6. Language Classes for Children

Started in 2003 as part of the combined initiative of Calgary Public Library and the association, the CECA continues to provide occasional Amharic and English language training for children in order to support them improve their communication skills and self-expression in both languages. The program was initiated and led by CECA but often runs by volunteers. CECA rent halls and facilities, and provide teaching materials. It is often held indoors in rental facilities, community halls and schools. Non-Ethiopian Calgary families who adopted children from Ethiopia, looking to preserve their children language and cultural heritage come to use the service.

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  7. New comer Assistance

The CECA often assist new comers in getting settlement services, and trainings in English language, jobs searches, and other related issues. Beneficiaries include new comers from Ethiopia through our own refugee sponsorship program, co-sponsored by community members, and those who resettled from other provinces.

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  8. Community Outreach Program

The Community Outreach Program of CECA provides a crucial service to the community and focuses on a number of family based social issues including, financial and moral support, mitigating family violence, counseling and mediation, assistance and participation in initiatives within Calgary aimed at helping underprivileged people in Africa and particularly East Africa. It is understood that several larger organizations exist in Calgary to provide support, however, in an immigrant community, members would be seeking solutions within prior to accessing such publicly available services. CECA is routinely confronted with members going through different kinds of tragic circumstances but having no support during difficult times. Community volunteers often step-in to provide financial and moral support. 

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  9. Family Mediation and Counselling Services

Members of the community at large are very private and routinely handle conflicts through intervention and mediation within the community. CECA provides such a forum and attempt to resolve conflicts through intervention and mediation, experience sharing, or by directing members to the appropriate service provider. Conflicts handled include spousal issues, various contractual arrangements among members (trust based issues), conflict arising from inter-religion and ethnic issues, and bridging the gap between the generation born in Canada and the first-generation immigrant parents.

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  10. Bereavement Counselling and Support

Loss of loved ones is handled quite differently in Ethiopian community than the western society. Repatriation of remains from Calgary, which is a common wish among the community members, alone is very expensive that is mostly handled with flash fundraising as members are unable to cover such expense. Many people routinely come to pay to their respect at each of these events which requires large organizational capacity. CECA takes a central role in leading and encouraging fund raising activities, and in general organize support groups for grieving family members.

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  11. Overseas Relief Effort

CECA is acutely aware of ongoing situations related to natural and man-made disasters in Ethiopia. In both issues the association supports volunteer organizers and assist them in different ways. One such annual high profile event in Calgary is the Run for Water program. CECA encourages members to participates actively in this program which aims to provide clean water to rural areas of Ethiopia.

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  12. Providing Support Letters

In addition to assisting members in various activities, the Association also provides members and their children with support letters when the request comes. The support letters can be to employers, public services, housing agencies, schools, and other organizations.