‘SEMIRA Amiralal (rear) Is a fami
Office manager Iris Newman is join

oo NEWS photo Paul McGrath
support worker at the Kaylela Family Centre.
ed by three-month-old son Jack.

chool, Plus Money fo

Fridge or Stove and
“OO Gift Certificate from

By Deana Lancaster
Contributing Writer

LOCATED on a quiet
tree-lined street in a
North Vancouver water-
front community, the
Kaylela Family Centre is
the source for support
services, information and
programs for young fam-
ilies. It is also home to
cultural understanding,

The waterfront community
is in the Squamish Band reserve
jands on West Esplanade.

Semira Amiralai, 23, began .

working at Kaylela as summer
relief for a family support work-
er in July. She’s hoping to stay ,
on.

“1 was little anxious when
Teame here,” Amiralai said. She
is Iranian and admits she knew
very little about First Nations
culture when she started at the
centre. She added that she has
much more to learn. “They are
a very warm, welcoming com-
munity to work with.”

The centre is multiculeural
and provides services to families
with children up to six years of
age. The location ensures its
accessibility for First Nations,
Metis, multicultural, _low-
income, adolescent or single-
parent families. .

” Amiralai_ provides personal
and family counselling, and sets
up any extra support that may
be required. ;

It could mean helping a sin-
gle mother get our of an abu-

Family worker
breaks down
the stereotynes

sive relationship, or help her
build confidence, or teach her
life skills necessary to make
things work on her own.

It’s not easy work, but
Amiralai said she believes the
centre’s role is eased by the
open and accepting attinude of
the First Nations community.

If a young woman is preg;
nant and needs help, she knows
she can get it without the stig-
ma that is placed on young
mothers in other communities.
It’s just one of the differences
Amiralai has noticed berween
the native culture and her own
Iranian background.

“Iranians are very proud -
too proud,” she said. She added
that many franian families don’t
want to share their concerns
outside the family. “Our prob-
Jems are hush-hush. It’s like
‘No, we don’t have any prob-
lems,” but I can look in their
kid’s cyes and see there’s a
problem.” She said there is
hardly any understanding for
young mothers in. the Iranian
community.

“If an Iranian girl becomes
pregnant, God help her, She'd
be shunned. Just forget it.”

Amiralai wants to help. At
Kaylela she leads a “Nobody's
Perfect Parenting group” . for
Iranians.

She said many families expe-
rience problems because the

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KitchemAid’

. Tran).

Wednesday, August 21, 1896 - North Shore News> 19

parents, wish to raise their chil-

dren as if they stil lived in Tran.
It is especially difficuh for
daughters.

“I's a patriarchal society (in
It's man's law.” In
Canada, parents find it difficult
to accept when their daughters
want to start wearing make-up,
dating, or socializing with
friends. Many parents don’t
want to think their children par-
ticipate. But they do, and
Amiralai knows it, because she’s
been there.

Her parents moved to
Canada when she was just two
years old, but she says they have
worked hard to keep their cul-
ture strong in her family, She’s
proud of her Iranian heritage.

“That's our blood, that’s
our family,” she said, And
although it hasn’r always been
easy, she thinks her family has
adjusted well, adopting some
Canadian traditions, such as
Christmas and other holidays,
while maintaining, much of the
culture from Iran.

But she added that she does-
nt allow her own cultural back-
ground to interfere- with the
work she does at Kaylela.
Because it’s a multicultural cen-
tre, she often deals with peaple
raised with different beliefs and
values from her own.

“You have to be sensitive,”
she said. “I have to step outside
my role as an Iranian-Canadian
when I’m working here.”

She believes it’s that lack of
sensitivity that causes conflict in

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