YWCA Adelaide Annual Report 2016-17 Oct 17 | Page 17

CROSSING THE BRIDGE
The Crossing the Bridge program has
provided a safe and supportive
environment for women from African
communities to come together to
share their experiences, to network
and to address challenges they face
when
accessing
mainstream
services.
This project was funded by the Department of
Social Services and funding concluded in June
2017. Our heartfelt thanks to Tsige Girmay for her
hard work on this project over the past 12 months
and our dedicated volunteers for their contribution
to the success of this project.
Group activities were held on a weekly basis, with
women coming together and engaging in sewing
with the support of our dedicated volunteers. The
project empowered women living with disabilities,
or who support fami ly members living with
disabilities, to have a voice in the community and to
encourage and prepare them for leadership roles in
the wider community.
A total of 29 women have participated in the
program since it commenced. Participants came
from a diverse range of communities including
Ethiopian, Sudanese (North and South Sudanese),
Eritrean, Liberian, Congolese, Burundi, Kenyan
and South African.
ENCORE
YWCA’s Encore program assists
women who have experienced breast
cancer surgery through pool and
floor based exercises, information
sharing and peer support.
Sixty-five women participated in over 5 eight-
week programs at Hampstead Rehabilitation
Centre and Flinders Medical Centre. It was also
wonderful to see so many past Encore participants
reconnecting through the 6 monthly Encore Lover’s
Dinners, held in July and January. Sincere thanks
to those whose ongoing support through donations
and fundraising ensure this important program can
be offered to women in SA. Every dollar donated to
YWCA Encore goes directly to program delivery
and we value the community support we receive.
We would also like to thank retiring Program
Assistants Ros Perkins and Margaret Tavener for
their significant contribution to Encore over many
years. We wish you all the best for your futures and
you will both be missed. A big thanks to facilitators
Val Slater and Lesley deWet-Jones and program
assistants Judy Brewin and Christine Hagenbruch
for their ongoing contribution to the Encore
program.
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