Friendship Centre gets donation for literacy work

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When Lloydminster banker Bonnie Green first got involved in community literacy programs, she was amazed to find out how many adults were unable to read, write or even count their own change at the store.

Literacy was something she had always taken for granted.

Serving on local committees and the Lloydminster Literacy Board became a real eye opener for Green, creating awareness for the funding which is so desperately needed to keep these literacy programs in place.

When Green was recently honored with a provincial Community Award from the Royal Bank (as the overall winner in the Education catagory) for her years of volunteer work in the field of literary, she was given the opportunity to select a worthy program to receive a $1,000 donation from the bank, funds which she decided to split between the LEARN/Literacy Lloydminster and the Lloydminster Native Friendship Centre.

And it was all because of something she had read in a newspaper, says Green.

"It wasn't until I had read several recent articles in Saskatchewan Sage and Windspeaker, that I realized how much the issue of illiteracy needed to be addressed in our own adult Aboriginal population, and how more people need to be made aware of this problem," she said.

During the official presentation of the donations by Green, the LEARN program coordinator Kamolsri Hodgkinson and the LNFC executive director, James McAra, expressed thanks for the funding and the recognition that the Native Friendship Centre had received.

"Funding for any program is hard to come by in this day and age. There is only so much to go around and we are understandably pleased, both for the acknowledgment of past success and our ongoing commitment to help urban Aboriginal people become more literate," he said.

The Native Friendship Centre is an important bridge in an urban environment for First Nations people who don't have the support of a band council, settlement or reserve, one that offers a welcome and non-confrontational place for established residents and people just coming off the reserve, said McAra.

"It's taking the first step that is the hardest if you're not literate, many people are afraid to say, 'I can't read.' You hide behind a shadow and don't want to tell anyone, afraid that people will make fun of you, think less of you, instead of reaching out and saying, 'I really need some help, please would somebody take the time.' That's what literacy programs do, they say 'Yes, I will take time to help you and deal with things in a way that you can understand, in a way that you need them,'" he said.

In an adult literacy program custom tailored for urban Aboriginals, these needs can range anywhere from coming in at a Grade 1 reading level to upgrading skills to write an apprenticeship exam.

The costs for these programs are definitely not hidden, explained the director. It costs to have a large group of people doing a 26-week literacy course with all the educational materials, resources, instructors and good programming in place.

Not to mention the expenses of running a facility like the Friendship Centre, switching on the heat, water and lights, he said.

But the return investment to the individual students involved, and the community at large, are beyond measurement, with a ripple effect that has Aboriginal children becoming more confident and interested in learning because their parents are.

There's more at stake with adult literacy than just learning hard core real life skills - like reading your income tax return forms or juggling numbers in your head, said McAra. Culturally speaking, we have a problem common to Aboriginal peoples all over the planet who have shared a long history of oral tradition. The recent break between generations and subsequent loss of connection with their Elders.

"There's an important and pressing need for literacy and the development of a written history among people with a history of oral tradition," said McAra. "Once an oral history is gone, it's gone forver. You can't recreate something that's not there."

As Native youth are returning to their traditional roots and spiritual ways, it's becoming so essential that we are able to record the things we've learned in our lives from teachers and Elders who have influenced us, he said.