I wanted to share this video with you, which gives a brief overview of the literacy programs that we run out of our Community Hub, Yummy Cafe, in Ambarvale.

According to UNESCO, 759 million adults still lack minimum literacy skills.

It’s a figure that’s staggering but it demonstrates the real need for initiatives and programs that address literacy not only among those who don’t reach the ‘standard’, but also early intervention programs that encourage early literacy skills and a love of reading in young children.

Poor literacy can have a spiraling effect leading to early school leavers, non-completion of educational opportunities, lower quality jobs, lower income, low self esteem and is a factor that can lead to a high dependency and long term reliance on the welfare system.

That’s why we run Books for Bubs and Big Books Big Fun – two programs highlighted in the video.

Books for Bubs helps promote reading to the babies and young children of families in the Macarthur region of NSW,  resourcing them with books, while Big Books Big Fun encourages literacy skills through fun reading and play activities at the Community Hub.

Huge thanks to the mums and children who gave their time to tell us how they feel about the programs.

Take a look at the video – we’ve shared some of our favourite books and we’d love to know what book you can’t put down right now, or what you book you loved as a child.

To find out more about the programs, see the website www.ywcansw.com.au

Kate

Every year I’m so proud to look back on the achievements for the past 12 months, and you may have seen our most recent statistics in our Annual Report, which can be found here http://www.ywcansw.com.au/annual_reports.php

Naturally, at this time of year many of us take time to reflect on the previous year and make resolutions for the year to come and that’s what some of the team here at YWCA NSW have been talking about.

What was interesting was that while there were the usual pledges to do more exercise, eat less chocolate (a scary prospect) and hit the gym after the indulgences of the festive period, many people plan to make 2012 the year that they get more out of life, whether that’s being more positive, appreciating the places we live and embracing the outdoors, taking up a new hobby or creating time to dedicate to existing ones. 

Our Parenting Ambassador Deborah Thomas also took some time recently to share her resolution, which focuses on seeing the glass half full and making a positive impact – take a look at the video clip for more.

It seems that 2012 is the year to make positive changes, take control and have positive influences on our own lives. This got me thinking about positive influences and how lucky we are to be able to motivate ourselves and, if our enthusiasm wanes a little, (as it invariably does) we have a support network in the form of friends, family and colleagues to be there to spur us on in those moments where we just feel like giving in.

But there are people out there, the people we help, that don’t have a support network to pull them up when they feel like giving up. That’s why early intervention and practical support is so important.

I’m excited at the prospect of a positive 2012, just imagine what achievements YWCA NSW and our supporters – people like you – can make this year by taking even more positive actions, being positive influences on each other and those vulnerable people who sometimes need a helping hand.

If your New Year Resolution is around positivity, why not resolve to give others the chance to have a positive year too. Take a look at our mentoring opportunities here http://www.ywcansw.com.au/volunteering.php or how your organisation can have a positive impact here http://www.ywcansw.com.au/corporate_partners.php

Wishing you all a safe, productive and positive year ahead,

Kate

I was never really any good at following the rules in the game of “Simon Says”. It’s a game that if the “players” follow an action (usually physical) that is not preceded with “Simon Says” or if they do a different action to what “Simon Says” then they are eliminated.

Some people love the game of “Simon Says”, others like me, get easily confused. Usually, I travel pretty well until “Simon” gets a bit cheeky and I end up visually copying his actions instead of listening to the instructions, which coincidently are completely different.

During a recent game I had a moment of deep insight that life is like a game of “Simon Says”.

“Simon” is a role that is played by many in the real life game. It is a role played by our parents and caregivers, teachers, police and even our manager at work. At some stage we will all take the role of playing “Simon” and for many, “Simon” is a positive influence in our lives.  However, for those who have been in the world of adolescence before, you’ll know that trying to figuring out which “Simon” to follow is a challenge.

In the game, there are implications if you do something without the permission of Simon. In the game of life, it could be seen as initiative, but for many, not conforming to the rules of “Simon” can be seen as rebellion. Think about when you were younger and “Simon” asked you to do something that you didn’t want to do. You would reply “Why Should I?” and the response from “Simon” was usually “Because I said so!”.

Think about how many messages we get in the real life game of “Simon Says”? As adults we know which directions to acknowledge and which ones to ignore. For an adolescent it’s confusing. It’s even more confusing if the “Simons” have conflicting views or if “Simon” gives no instructions at all.

The role of being a mentor is a special one and one that you can be proud of. If you’re a Big Brother or Big Sister, this is an opportunity for your Mentee to see you as someone other than “Simon”.

Someone whose positive actions and words will mean the same thing – reliability and consistency. A Mentor is someone who supports a “player” if they feel like they’re getting eliminated from the game, and can help guide them on their own journey.

“Simon Says” is a simple game, but for many it gets confusing. The small amount of time that you spend mentoring makes a BIG difference so that everyone has an equal chance to continue to stay in the game.

Looking for Big Brothers Big Sisters™ Outing Ideas? How about:

Big Brother Big Sister End of Year Party – December

Time to get together to celebrate the Summer and the end of the year with the other Bigs and Littles. Fresh air, Fresh lunch and making our own Fresh BBBS Beats with a drumming circle. Contact your coordinator for all the details!

OUTPOST – Art from the Streets, Cockatoo Island. 4 Nov-11 Dec  *Highly Recommended from a BIG*

Cockatoo Island’s vast abandoned factories and intriguing forgotten alleyways are the perfect backdrop for projects showcasing the energy and diversity of Street Art. With OUTPOST PROJECT, visitors will be able to see a huge range of Street Art in one location.  

TIP: Go on a Sunday and grab a Sunday Funday pass for $2.50 for your ferry trip.

http://outpost.cockatooisland.gov.au/familyprograms.html

What’s on in Sydney this Christmas?

Check out the City of Sydney website for a range of concerts, festival and carol singing http://www.sydneychristmas.com.au/

Northern Beaches – Christmas by the Beach – a huge, day and night event, filled with family entertainment and activities!

Sunday 18 December, 9am – 9pm. Ted Jackson Reserve, Dee Why Beach http://www.warringah.nsw.gov.au/services/Christmas.aspx

After spending a relaxing weekend with the family at glorious Bunker Bay (near Margaret River) I was ready for some serious discussion around issues facing young people in the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF) 2011 is a parallel event to the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) Meeting, which is held every two years.  The CYF provides opportunities for young people to contribute to Commonwealth agendas, network with other delegates from Commonwealth countries and participate in personal development workshops and skill building sessions. 

On registration at the CYF in Fremantle, late on Sunday afternoon, I was advised that I had a special invitation awaiting pick-up.  I was given a small blue folder and told that I had also received a invitation to CHOGM Opening Ceremony on Friday morning.  So, I am now anxiously awaiting a glimpse of the Queen, who will be opening CHOGM!

Prime Minister Julia Gillard opened the CYF and gave a great introduction to Minister for Youth, Peter Garrett  http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8364651/midnight-oil-jokes-at-youth-chogm-event

The first day of the CYF saw introductions to the role of the Commonwealth and participation in thematic workshops to develop recommendations for the next CYF Communique.  Some key points or shocking stats taken from Day 1 were:

• Young people make up 50-70% of the Commonwealth population – so they need a voice!
• 6000 young people are affected by HIV/AIDS every day
• Youth can be seen not as a problem but as an asset to develop

 The day ended with a delightful evening at Fremantle Town Hall.  The entire day was filled with opportunities to meet and learn from inspiring and amazing young people from around the globe. 

Ahmed  is only 26 but has achieved a great deal in his young life in Nigeria.  He  is attending the CYF in his role as “Chief Whip” of the Nigerian Youth Parliament (which I am told is the person that tells everyone to be quiet when parliament gets out of hand!).  Not only is Ahmed “Chief Whip”, but he is also a lecturer in Economics at Katsina State University in Nigeria.  Ahmed has a MSc Oil and Gas Economics.  He hopes to learn from other young people about youth initiatives and impart learnings from Nigeria, particularly from those who don’t have the opportunity to have a voice.  After speaking with Ahmed it is obvious he is very optimistic about the positive social change the next generation of young people will bring to Nigeria and the Commonwealth.

Joana is an inspiring young woman from Malawi and is the Regional Chairperson for the Girl Guide Association.  Joana works on projects for sexual and reproductive health for women aged 15-25 years (particularly teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS) and alcohol and other drug use.   Joana works with young people to educate them about the impact of behaviours on their education and productivity.  She is particularly passionate about supporting young women to finish their education before marriage, so that they can reach their dreams.  At just 18, Joana is an amazing role model for other young women in her community; Joana is currently studying HR and hopes to open her own NGO one day to support young people in her community. 

Kelsey,  Senior Manager, YWCA NSW Metro Region

Every week we get check-ins from our Bigs (the adult volunteer mentors from our Big Brothers Big Sisters™ program) where they talk about the experiences that they have had with their Littles (the young people they are matched with).

Check-ins make my day, I get to hear about the amazing things that the matches are doing and the mentoring relationships that are developing. Whether it’s a noticeable change in confidence or a belly-aching laughable moment – every experience is worthy of reflection.  How do you reflect on the experiences you share with others?  

Recently our “Big Brothers” and the older “Little Brothers” were out for a casual game of roof top basketball. A great time for all to show off their skills, hang out with other matches and role-model fair play and sportsmanship.  Stayed tuned Bigs for more outings coming up!

For the time being, if you’re a Big check out these outings ideas:

Borrow a Dog – Have you got a friend that has a dog? Is the dog friendly? Does your little like dogs? Done! Pack the plastic bags and take it for a walk, or a run.

Progressive Outings – Make your outings last more than one week. Think of a theme? Sport, Art, Recycled Design, Beach and Ocean Life, Cooking? What can you do with this theme that could carry on for a few weeks? Photography is a good example. Or perhaps something more active, is there an unusual sport you’re interested in? See if there’s a local game on that you can go and watch http://www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/gatewaytosport/index.asp

Australian National Maritime Museum – Located at the northern end of Darling Harbour, there’s a lot to see and do…with exhibitions that tell stories of great adventure on the water; of navy battles and mutiny; of migrants venturing across the seas to settle on our shores; of ancient saltwater traditions; of modern beach culture and of aquatic sporting achievements.

MUSEUM ENTRY IS FREE. AN ENTRY FEE APPLIES TO THE MUSEUM VESSELS.

Darling Harbour Playground – The new playground will be almost 50 per cent bigger than the previous playground and have a fantastic array of features including an extensive water play area with locks, sluices, pumps and water buckets.

Clontarf Reserve – Waterfront playground & BBQ area with enclosed harbour swimming. Bring something for you and your Little to cook on the BBQ !

Playgrounds – Check out the City of Sydney list of playgrounds http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Residents/ParksAndLeisure/Playgrounds/Default.asp

Splash Festival (Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre) – happening on October 9^th, check out all the fun you could have http://www.aquaticcentre.com.au/Splash-Festival/default.aspx

Halloween party for kids – happening on October 30^th from 12.30pm

http://networkcanada.com.au/images/Halloween%20for%20Kids%202011%20by%20Network%20Canada.pdf

 And if you’re looking for some conversation starters, how about:

•  If you had any super power what would it be, and what would you do with that power?
• You are standing in a field, next to a tree, any tree, what would you do, and what would the tree look like?

Enjoy!

Sharne and the mentoring team

The conference aimed to ‘inspire, energise, support and connect’ youth sector workers around their professional and personal practice.

I went along to present with some of the team…

We arrived at the conference with plenty of time to have a practice run of our session and polish some final details. We were all in good spirits but naturally a bit nervous as in addition to presenting, we were about to try our hand at a spot of acting!

Forum theatre is a very interactive and engaging way to work with community members and in this case we aimed to demonstrate how different approaches to a young person’s personal issues can have different effects on the outcome for the young person.

We felt positive that we would engage the audience, and later get them involved, but we needed to break the ice.

After a welcome and introduction to YWCA NSW, we clarified that we were not professional actors but Y staff but got a laugh when I mentioned that team member Lisa (on the far left of the photo) was hoping to be discovered though!

We ran our theatrical piece which went really well…phew, what a relief!

Then everything else followed smoothly, from the participation of the audience as they took on different roles, replacing different characters of the storyline to demonstrate alternative ways of dealing with the situation, to their comments, feedback and discussion.

This forum theatre tool raised a lot of questions, comments and positive feedback, with the audience keen to know whether we could do this type of work with the young people they work with.

Unfortunately Lisa didn’t get discovered (although she might through this blog!), but the team did a great job!

 Sabrina, Program Manager, Training & Community Services (that’s me standing up)

After the ferry ride with the rest of the Northys heading over from Manly for the City2Surf I negotiated my way through the punters up to the Y-Hotel. The YWCA NSW team (including another two  Big Brothers Big Sisters ambassadors – Brendan and Sam) set off after a quick photo and a brisk walk to join the yellow pack outside of St Mary’s. All ready to go and… bang the yellow pack are off and away, but we didn’t move for another 5 minutes!

Once we started it was a walk/jog/walk/jog scenario – we like to call it a “yog”. Walk up the hills and jog down the hills!

As for who beat who (the Northy vs the Easty) - the official times aren’t in but it could be a photo finish for who actually crossed the finish line first! We stuck together through the heavy breathing and old lady hip cramps (I’ve found out it’s all down hill from 27), leaving no woman behind we made it to Bondi in just under two hours. I like to say despite the competitive banter we really cared (one of the Y values) to make sure we both made it over the line together - that’s how the BBBS team works – cheesey!!!

Anyway, as for our lunch deal - the loser has to make the winner lunch for a week – today I’ve brought quiche and salad for the both of us to dine on, Michelle (the Easty) will prepare something for tomorrow (fish cakes? That’s my request Michelle) and then we’ll see what else happens. Michelle went to the osteopath first thing Monday morning and I’m ready for the physio on Thursday – just in time to start to prepare for the hour and half time that I’ll run it in 2012!

All in all, great motivation to get active and a fun way to raise awareness of the great work out volunteer mentors are doing in the community.

Sharne (The Northy!!)

Holding her head up high for the Northies, Sharne is definitely taking the lead with a huge run at the beginning of last week; however the result was a sore hip for the rest of the week!

After three days of strenuous Alpine training (no running involved but she says she feels like she’s run a marathon) Sharne was up early this morning for her favourite morning workout – Breakfast Buddies with the students at Woolloomooloo!

With the schools back after holidays, Sharne went to Breakfast Buddies with the volunteer mentors this morning, had a bit of a volleyball warm-up, a quick catch up after the holidays, some cereal and toast and then back outside for  some quick sprints with the Breakfast Buddies’ favourite type of running… dodgeball!

For Michele I (our other Northy) as opposed to Michelle B (our Easty), training comes in the form of some cross-country hiking. Donning her walking shoes with a fellow Yorkshire lass she hit the sand, rocks, mud and steps between Newport and Palm Beach to get her body City 2 Surf ready!

An added bonus was spotting a whale at Whale Beach – who would have thought it!

Doing it for the ’gong is Nicola, who after zero training last year thought she had better up her game. So…she got herself a personal trainer.

Apparently Tiger is very good at dragging her around and not letting her stop for breath. The same rules, sadly, however, do not apply to him (take a look at the picture!).

Don’t forget to support the team who are taking part for YWCA NSW  to help disadvantaged people across NSW.

http://www.fundraise.city2surf.com.au/ywca_nsw_5

A new president has been voted in (congratulations Deborah Thomas from Trinidad & Tobago), a new treasurer (congratulations Carolyn Flowers from the USA) and a new Board (congratulations all) with the Vice Presidents and Nominations Committee still to be decided.

We have passed resolutions to support Climate Justice and North Korean refugees. We have promised to share leadership, give young women more of a voice, become more sustainable and accountable as a movement and considered what YWCA in 2035 will look like.

Songs have been sung, friendships created and renewed, tears shed, passions inflamed and there have been many moments where we have been given cause to stop, pause and think. The crosses created from bullets from Liberia’s streets, the courage of those living with HIV Aids, the insidious epidemic of sexual harassment in Egypt and stories of rape, child marriage, refugees, dispossession, isolation and violence.

And yet, we leave Zurich with a sense of focus and determination, a re-commitment to the movement, a sense of solidarity and a quiet space in our hearts for those who don’t have a voice.

In the words of Deepak Chopra as quoted by Mary Robinson from The Elders, “The possibility of stepping into a higher plane is quite real for everyone. It requires no force or effort or sacrifice. It involves little more than changing our ideas about what is normal.”

Today, July 13, was the last day of the International Women’s Summit. The theme was Women, Peace and Security. The speakers frequently spoke about Security Council Resolution 1325 (SCR 1325), which mandates women’s involvement in peace- and nation-building, while denouncing violence against women during war-time. It also calls for peace with justice.

I’ve heard people speak about why SCR1325 is important but I’ve always wanted to find out what the next step is. The speakers articulated a movement away from seeing, focusing and dealing with conflict as a way of reaching peace to actually articulating what peace should be built upon. When it comes to peace and conflict, there needs to be a systems view taken of the health of a society, namely the position and experience of women – rather than simply a focus on the people holding the guns.

In addition, there needs to be a global system of early warning sign detection and action. For example, inter-community dialogue and reconciliation should be identified as a necessary step to ameliorating conflict long before violence erupts.

Most importantly, women need to be decision-makers and meaningful stakeholders. Not only do they bring a unique perspective, but they are also the ones who suffer the most during conflict and who are often responsible for protecting children and elderly people. Women must also be integral decision-makers in times of peace to prevent conflict. A complete peace cannot be built on half of society.

Josie Swords