HCF funds the YOUth Create after-school program in the McQuesten neighbourhood. Its focus is on fitness, nutrition, health, well-being and the arts. Read about their activities in Canadian Cyclist magazine.
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The Sudanese Homework club strengthens academic skills and connects community. Club director Huda Diab is flanked by student volunteers Elrashmid Mohamed from St. Jean de Brebeuf High School and Ala Mohamed from McMaster University.
Homework Help and Much More on the Mountain
Huda Diab has unlimited faith in the potential of children to adapt and excel in the face of difficult odds.
She sees evidence of it every day as coordinator of the Sudanese Homework Club – and research supports her optimism. Afterschool programs like hers are proven to keep kids in school and increase high-school graduation rates, especially among children in low-income families.
Twice a week at the Montcalm Community
House on the west Mountain, some 18
children aged 6 to 13 spend two hours at the
Homework Club with Huda, and a volunteer
crew of teachers, high school students and
parents. Most of the kids are Sudanese, but the
program’s success has attracted others from the
neighbourhood too. The program usually begins
with students pulling a book from the “library
shelf,” reading for a few minutes, then writing a
paragraph about the book which they then read
aloud to the group. The youngsters also work on
math, English, French and sciences – all with a
documented improvement in school.
Along with academic improvement, they build social skills: confidence, public speaking, and a positive attitude. “The children are very bright,” says Ines Rios of the St. Joseph Immigrant Women’s Centre, which sponsors the Sudanese Homework Club. “What they need is confidence, to get over their shyness and show their talent.”
Huda agrees: “We know that it is important to focus on schoolwork, but it is important for them to participate in sports and other activities. Our goal here is to help build their characters and give them good models for life.”
One of those good models is Huda herself, who
came to Canada ten years ago from Sudan and
has become deeply involved both within and
outside Hamilton’s Sudanese community. Four
years ago she completed training offered by the
Facilitating Inclusion Leadership Program, a
past HCF-funded project.
The Homework Club offers enormous benefits to children and to their parents. Many are recent immigrants and refugees from wartorn Sudan. These often-isolated newcomers connect with neighbours and learn about Canadian customs and culture through speakers, field trips and celebrations.
The events help families develop comfort in a new culture, a network of emotional support, neighbourhood attachment, and a circle of friends.
Hamilton Community Foundation is supporting the homework club through the Edith H. Turner Foundation Fund.