People of all ages are attending our CBAL programs across the Columbia Basin and Boundary. I love to see so may people engaged in learning!

In October, we held our annual Reach a Reader campaign, raising $14,165 to support our literacy programs. Thank-you to our donors, volunteers, Credit Union partners and Black Press for making the campaign a great success. We use the money we raise to support local literacy programs, to buy quality program resources and to buy books to give away in family literacy programs. This month many CBAL communities are collecting books to distribute in Christmas hampers. 

You may wonder why we go to all this trouble. It is really quite simple. Literacy programs with quality resources are better programs. Children who have books in their homes have a better chance of school success. Strong literacy skills lead to success in life - better jobs, better health and increased civic engagement.

By providing quality learning resources for literacy programs for people of all ages and putting books in the hands of people who need them, we can make a difference. So, if you have any new or "just like new" books to donate this holiday season, please do so. You can find out where to drop off books by contacting your community literacy coordinator. 

Best wishes for the holiday season from CBAL!

Ali Wassing
Executive Director

Reach a Reader 2016

Playdough is always a hit when CBAL program facilitator Julie Poetsch brings it out at the Parent and Child Time program in Balfour. This is the recipe that Julie uses -  it’s easy to make and will last for several months if stored in an air tight container in the fridge.

Playdough is great to make with children over the holiday season. Playing with playdough helps children learn about colour, shape, size, and texture. It also develops eye-hand coordination, small muscle control and provides hours of free fun!
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• 2 cups white flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 Tbsp. cream of tartar
• 3 Tbsp. oil
• 1 2/3 cups boiling water
• Food colouring

 
Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix the wet ingredients together. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and knead until the dough is smooth.

,From her cozy home office, Joan Exley, CBAL’s Community Literacy Coordinator in Nelson exclaims, “Gosh, I’ve been doing this work for a long time!” Joan has been involved in the literacy scene in Nelson since 1995. As a mother of two young children, she became a volunteer adult literacy tutor. She wanted to get out of the house and to reconnect with one of her passions, learning. 

Joan says, “I have always wanted to work with learning and teaching, but not in a conventional setting. I love supporting learning. I find the way people learn, the way learning changes people’s lives and the bigger picture of a community’s values around learning really interesting.”
“People who come to learning as adults have a different perspective on it. They see it’s value and impact on their lives in a bigger way. Their learning can be quite transformative - it opens doors, even doors they didn’t know they had access to,” Joan says.
 
When asked what changes she sees in community-based literacy programs, Joan says, “Parents now see learning with their children in a different way – there is more of a conversation than there used to be. The conversation has evolved to include things like managing media and the over busyness of childhood. This leads to great conversations about how kids learn and how we support them. This impacts how family literacy programs help parents support their children’s learning.”
 
One of Joan’s favorite CBAL memories is of an adult learner who spoke at a literacy event. The learner started in Nelson’s Mother Goose and Love 2 Learn programs with her little children. Later she joined a CBAL adult literacy program and worked with a tutor. Then she attended Selkirk College. At the event, the learner shared how it took her a long time to get to where she was with her education, but how she was able to see a future for herself and her family. She went from having few skills to having many and gained independence and confidence.

Joan says, “Our literacy work with this learner and her family helped her on her learning journey. That’s why I have been committed to this work for so long. It can have a profound and transformative affect on people’s lives.”
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Besides her passion for literacy and learning, Joan is an avid photographer and outdoor adventurer.  She spends time hiking, camping and cycling with her family, friends and dog. Many great photos are taken along the way!
 
Barb Szuta
Community Literacy Coordinator
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy - Kaslo and Balfour

Rahaf Zwayne’s fresh start began when she moved to Canada in May of 2016. Rahaf is a young Syrian woman. She was working in Turkey when she met Ian and Melva Scott from Fruitvale. The Scotts were in Turkey on vacation. They felt a strong connection with Rahaf. They stayed in touch with her after they want home and offered to sponsor her to come to Canada.

Soon after she arrived in Canada, Rahaf began thinking about her future. She says, “I love learning.” She is always looking for ways to improve herself. Rahaf wanted to start a career in fashion, but knew that Trail was too small for that kind of work.

Last summer, Rahaf met with advisors at Selkirk College in Castlegar. She has experience doing humanitarian work, so her first idea was to take the Peace and Justice Studies diploma. Rahaf realized that finding work in that field might be hard, so she decided to apply to the Resort and Hotel Management Diploma Program instead. She was very excited to be accepted and was lucky to receive the Selkirk College Humanitarian Award. This award paid for Rahaf’s first year of tuition!

Before her classes began, Rahaf met with CBAL’s Trail settlement worker, Carolyn Amantea. She joined Carolyn and some other new Canadians on a hike in Rossland. They also went to Castlegar to look at the sculptures. She says, “It was nice to make connections with other young immigrant women in the community.”

Rahaf’s classes are in Nelson, which is far from her home in Fruitvale. A staff member at the college helped her find a family she can stay with in Nelson during the week. On the weekends, Rahaf returns to Fruitvale to relax, study and visit with the Scott family.
 
Rahaf says that college in Canada is quite different from college in Syria. She says, “Here there is more time for students to interact with their instructors. Staff members are friendly. It easy to be open and honest with them.”

Even though life these days can be hectic, Rahaf finds time to volunteer with the Catholic Church in Nelson helping with Arabic translation for Syrian families. Her first presentation at college was called, “How Volunteering Has Affected My Life.”

Rahaf is looking forward to her first Canadian work experience this spring. She will have a five-month work term with one of the big hotel chains – Fairmont, Delta, Marriot or Sun Peaks.
Rahaf is not in Trail very often, but she knows she can contact Carolyn for support if she needs it. Even though answering questions about her life in Syria is sometimes hard, she is enjoying college and feels thankful for the opportunity for a fresh start.

Carolyn Amantea
Settlement Worker
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy - Trail and Area