ARTS AND CRAFTS: A Tool for Integration

by Mercedes Mande, Latin American Family Counsellor

MOSAIC’s Family Programs provide a variety of services for women and children from four communities. The Latin American Family Programs have been running for approximately ten years and have five different support groups. Among these, the Arts and Crafts group has been a pleasure to work with. The activities for this particular support group are developed in partnership with Britannia Community Centre and East Side Family Place.

The group represents women from almost every country of Latin America, with different backgrounds, levels of education, and ages. What they all have in common is the hope of building a better life for themselves and their families in their new country.

Through an empowering process these women now run this group. By this I mean that they have developed their own dynamics as a group, and each woman takes on a role as a leader. They decide what their concerns are, and act to change conditions affecting their lives.

In a regular crafts session the women bring materials from their homes and ideas to share with others. They share great stories about their childhood, their struggles as immigrants or traditions of their home countries. They care about each other, they worry when someone is sick and celebrate good news together. They help find volunteers or volunteer themselves to teach crafts. Their children also have their own activities with the help of the well trained childminders. At the end of the session each child (between three and five years old) goes back home with a beautiful handicraft made by her/himself.

The women have participated in community craft fairs, and in other community projects, such as “Our own backyard”. The purpose of this event was to express through art the values that are important to the individuals, their families, and their communities. This project was developed in collaboration with the Multicultural Family Centre (African and Vietnamese groups). As part of the project, the Arts and Crafts group made different drawings using words such as “love”, “respect” and “integration”. Then, community artists used the drawings to create a piece of art work on the sidewalk of the Multicultural Family Centre located on Commercial Drive.

These women are also entrepreneurs. They organize themselves to fundraise in order to buy materials. A second-hand sewing machine was bought, and we facilitated sewing classes that enabled them to make clothes for themselves and their families. They are well-organized and they plan ahead. They see the group as a longterm entity which they themselves want to maintain.