Canada has been shaped by people who came from all over the world to build this country. WOW offers a platform for us to celebrate this history and the future it will help…

Alex Munter, Chair of the OLIP Council and President and CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre
My nomination is an indication that our hard work in building Canada is recognized. All we do is to serve the community in return for embracing us when we needed it.  

Mehdi Mahdavi
Ottawa Immigrant Entrepreneurship Awards Nominee
The City of Ottawa will continue to play a lead role in the implementation of the Ottawa Immigration Strategy, just as we did in the founding of OLIP.

Steve Desroches
City Councillor and Deputy Mayor of Ottawa
The OLIP Council is committed to leadership.  In only a few years, we have a common vision and priorities, and are up to the task of implementing the Ottawa Immigration Strategy.

Salimatou Diallo
OLIP Council Vice Chair, Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario
The WOW seminar on immigrant women’s nutrition and health was a step in the right direction towards closing the gap between academic researchers and service providers.

Josephine Etowa
Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of Ottawa
I’m really impressed with the level of energy and commitment around the Health and Wellbeing table and look forward to continuing collaboration between OLIP and OPH.

Marcela Tapia
Ottawa Public Health
I was happy to see integration to Algonquin territory and indigenous culture related programming in 2014 WOW. Please continue to involve local Aboriginal organisations and…

Linda Manning
WOW 2014 participant, Senior Fellow, University of Ottawa
The work and expertise that OLIP brings to our community is so important as it helps us to build bridges and break down silos.  I look forward to our continued work together. 

Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa
We are very pleased to have done the “Opportunity Cost of Not Investing in Interpretation” report – it is so important to have clarity on these challenges and…

Hindia Mohamoud, Director, OLIP
All the WOW events that I went to were great – WOW does give a sense of a community trying to improve its attraction and retention!

Caroline Andrew
Professor, University of Ottawa

Updates from African Canadian Association of Ottawa (ACAO)

September 2, 2021

By Hector Addison

The African Canadian Association of Ottawa’s mission is to unite people of African descent and promote the welfare of their community while encouraging greater participation in civic matters. Below are updates on key initiatives currently underway.

Mental Health Initiatives:

Mental health in the Black community continues to be an issue and given the trend it is going to be for a long time. We have cultural, religious, and racial interplay that often stifle people’s initiative to seek help. Since its inception, ACAO has been at the forefront advocating for better health outcomes for the black communities here in Ottawa and Canada. There are several activities we pursue to realize the goals of our mental health program.

  1. Money and Mental Health Series – ACAO delivers monthly workshops on how money and mental health are related and solving for money is sure way of reducing family stressors that result in profound health, emotional and psychological issues.
  1. Joy Workshop Series: Addressing Mental Health through Art Therapy – This 12 – week cohort workshop series is designed to help people going through severe mental health crisis to find joy and friendship through art. This is delivered by professional Art Therapists and Social workers. The pilot virtual program was so successful that we want to duplicate it in person at ACAO’s new office facility at 40 Colonnade Rd N.

Community Development Program:

Since 2016, community development has been the hallmark of ACAO. Recognizing that our community is the most disadvantaged in many ways, we needed to work with partners to provide affordable housing, newcomer services and others.

  1. COVID-19 Food Relief – Since the pandemic began, we have delivered over 500 food boxes consisting of staples the community eat. Each food box lasts a family of 4, one month or more. For families who had been hit with effect of COVID-19 pandemic, and newcomers, this is indeed a relief that puts smiles on their faces. To date, we have invested over $145,000 in this program. We were able to procure and distribute 4000 customized masks to the community in addition to the relief food boxes. So far, approximately 2300 people have benefited from this program alone. Funding for this program has come from government, a private foundation, SWCHC/City of Ottawa and individual donors through our website.

Integration Committee

This year had been busy for our integration committee. They have participated in numerous marches to demand the government honours its promise of giving Permanent Residence status to refugees and newcomers who have shoulder the pandemic efforts to keep us all safe.