MOSAIC Seniors Club, in collaboration with Global Women Seeking Change Group, organized a fundraising luncheon on December 13 at MOSAIC Head Office. The event included a 10-item buffet style lunch featuring dishes from Eritrea, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Syria and Tajikistan. It was followed by entertainment from the seniors at MOSAIC Seniors Club.
Over 100 seniors and staff members attended the event and $1180 was raised, which included donations and proceeds from the silent auction.
The luncheon was hosted by the Global Women Seeking Change Group, a participatory action group that was founded in March 2018 by Andrea Montgomery Di Marco as part of her doctoral research. The group is composed of women from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Syria, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Canada who share a common bond through motherhood, and arriving in Canada as refugees. Through resiliency, hope, and a deep desire to work together for change, they seek to flourish individually and to build thriving communities.
Daisy Au, who coordinated the event on the MOSAIC end, said “We are very appreciative of Andrea and the Global Women Seeking Change Group, who provided all the food for the sold-out event. It was the first time many of the guests ate food from African regions and everyone enjoyed it greatly. It’s wonderful to see this newcomer group come together as a community and inspiring that they are able to support our seniors group. We hope to work with the group, or individuals from the group again.”
The funds raised will go to the MOSAIC Seniors Club, and one of their projects was to enable a group of senior African women living in relative isolation in Burnaby know more about MOSAIC Seniors Club, its programs and resources, and to have them experience a field trip to Victoria and meet some of the seniors in their community.
Entertainment at the event included a cheongsam fashion show, magic performance, Mongolian dance, Farsi women group singing, soprano solo, and musical performances including keyboard, trapezoidal yangqin, guitar and violin.
Statement by Andrea Montgomery Di Marco
I would first like to thank each of you for joining us today and for supporting both the Global Women Seeking Change research group, and the MOSAIC Seniors’ Group. On a very personal note, each of these groups reflects my passion and commitment to our refugee-immigrant community. You have heard from some of the members of our research group, and it is my delight to tell you a little about the MOSAIC Seniors’ Group. As I look around this room, I see many of our senior leaders, volunteers, students, and the incredibly supportive and committed MOSAIC staff.
The MOSAIC Seniors’ Group evolved in response to a growing awareness of the challenges, obstacles, and isolation of our immigrant Seniors. Language barriers, challenges with accessing medical and psychological services, increasing mobility challenges, increasing isolation, and a sense of malaise, or loss of purpose, are only some of the concerns that have been raised by the Seniors or identified by Staff or volunteers.
It is the mission of the MOSAIC Seniors’ Group to increase the awareness of, and presence of MOSAIC in both our local and provincial communities. We are passionate about reaching out to our immigrant Seniors, re-integrating our Seniors into our communities, continuing relevant and meaningful programs including educational and cultural field trips, encouraging agency and leadership from within the community, and re-introducing our communities to the wealth of gifts, wisdom, and experience that are reflected in our immigrant Seniors. MOSAIC Seniors’ Group is a group of visionaries, planners, organizers, and executors.
Our Seniors Club has a wide range of free activities that encourage participants to make new friends, learn new skills and join community events. Aimed at immigrants and refugees aged 55 years and up, participants enjoy a myriad of benefits to their physical, social, spiritual, emotional, and mental well-being through these activities. To learn more, please visit mosaicbc.org/seniors.
