Technology is at the center at Umoja
written by Erika Jacinto, United Way Centraide Canada
UMOJA (a Kiswahili word meaning unity) Operation Compassion Society is a charitable organization formed in 2003 to support newcomer immigrants and refugees living in Surrey, BC, to successfully and holistically integrate into their new surroundings.
UMOJA’S culturally attuned, trauma-informed programs are particularly essential for those at risk of socio-economic marginalization based on language and skills gaps, race, cultural and religious background or perceived status.
In 2023-2024 many of the UMOJA local programs benefited from the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Funds (CSRF), namely: UMOJA United Way School’s Out and Future Leaders Youth programs, Adult Literacy and Life Skills, Early Years Parenting, Newcomer Men’s and Digital Connect programs (for visible minority women).
The funds received largely served to enhance resilience and recovery post-COVID through the modernization of their facilities including the setting up of a new virtual conference room equipped with modern assets such as an overhead projector, laptops, conference audio equipment (microphones and speakers), TV screen, digital cameras and even a photocopier (very helpful to reproduce their training manuals). The upgraded and integrated facility enhanced their capacity and helped expedite efforts to provide a variety of culturally sensitive programs to help families, children, and youth acquire exposure, skills and confidence for successful integration into their new socio-economic environment.
The additional training courses and upgraded facilities help users find meaningful work, more efficiently communicate virtually with the world in an increased professional setting and even plan leisure activities such as movie nights and more as UMOJA seeks to build a true community hub.
Among other deserving groups, mothers with young children have greatly benefited from the upgrade since they can now use a laptop onsite or borrow it to train remotely. This flexibility greatly facilitates their balance between home and training opportunities. The staff’s motivation has also increased because of a new work area set-up, sophisticated décor, and resources.
“Newcomers to Canada can find it difficult to integrate due to obstacles such as financial insecurity, language and skills gaps and culture shock. The CSRF has helped UMOJA become a benchmark organization by enhancing its versatility, creativity and efficiency to the benefit of our clients”
“Everything has been transformed, and we are now better set up for our mission continuity and properly suited to serve increasing current and future community needs”
UMOJA seeks to holistically support integration into Canadian society while upholding each person’s dignity and unique worth to their communities. Thanks to the CSRF, the upgraded facilities ensure that they are better equipped to help bridge the privilege gap and to work toward an authentically thriving Canadian society in which no one is left behind.
The Community Services Recovery Fund was a one-time $400 million investment from the Government of Canada to support community service organizations, including charities, non-profits, and Indigenous governing bodies as they focused on how to adapt their organizations for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Community Foundations of Canada, alongside the Canadian Red Cross and United Way Centraide Canada, supported close to 5,500 community service organizations through the Community Services Recovery Fund.