| Summary: | Aboriginal Head Start (AHS) is a national early intervention programme funded by Health Canada, for First Nations, Inuit and Métis preschool children and their families. Approximately 3,500 children participate annually in 98 aboriginal Head Start centres located across Canada. The Oshki-majahitowiin Head Start Programme started in 1996. It is modelled after the Head Start Programme in the United States that is designed to give preschool children and their parents an opportunity for educational and spiritual development. The programme operates in a centre in the heart of the City of Winnipeg. Recent statistics identify this part of the city as the poorest urban constituency in Canada. It is a neighbourhood of extreme need for children and families, and high risk too: health, safety, housing, employment, education, personal relationships – all need attention. Single parents and/or grandparents often head families. But beyond the graffiti-painted fences, inside an old brick building, there is a large room, painted with lively earth colours: the playroom for the children. The four directions, represented with four colours, invite people to understand Ojibway and Cree cultures. On one wall is the kitchen niche, open to the playroom so cooks can be part of the children’s programme. One wall has windows with a view to a small playground and park. Another wall has windows that look into the offices of staff. Parent participation is a key to the success of the programme, which honours and supports traditional cultural and spiritual values.
|
|---|