Program helps northern Ontario newcomers learn valuable life skills

When Aminat Atanda-Nwal arrived in Sudbury from Nigeria, she was able to quickly connect with other newcomers thanks to the Women's Wellness and Vocational Circle.

"I just saw it was just a networking thing, a community to meet people, hang out and share ideas," she said.

"But I got more than that because I didn't know there were going to be so many programs laid down for participants, like financial literacy. "

Atanda-Nwal moved to the northern Ontario city in January 2024 to study at Cambrian College.

Through the Women's Wellness and Vocational Circle she learned how to better manage her finances in Canada, and also took a hairdressing class.

Adebola Adefioye is the founder and executive director of the Afro Women and Youth Foundation, which runs the Women's Wellness and Vocational Circle.

She started the group to help Black women new to Sudbury adjust to life in Canada and learn some valuable skills.

A few past participants have already started their own small businesses with the skills they learned, she said.

"There's vocational training where they acquire skills in, for example, basic skills in sewing. They get to learn hairdressing," she said.

Adefioye said the classes are currently capped at 20 people due to their current space.

She said the Afro Women and Youth Foundation's funding is due to end next month, unless she can secure new grants. 

"All the amazing programs and the responses and the feedback and the testimonies that we're getting, if we don't have funding to continue the work, we're going to be kicked out of the space in the next one month," Adefioye said.

The Catherine Donnelly Foundation and the United Way North East Ontario currently fund the Afro Women and Youth Foundation and programs like the Women's Wellness and Vocational Circle.