inclusion, respect & somali...

INCLUSION, RESPECT & SOMALI DIALOGUESAN OPERATIONAL MODEL FOR ACTIVITIES ENHANCING THE WELLBEING OF OLDER SOMALI WOMEN

JADE PROJECT FINAL REPORT (RAY 2013–2015)

HANNA RANTALA, HAMDI MOALIM & RUTH FRANCO

KÄPYRINNE RY

2 INCLUSION, RESPECT & SOMALI DIALOGUES | RAY 2013–2015

JADE PROJECTwww.jadeprojekti.fi Kantin pysäkki, Käpyrinne ryHumalistonkatu 4, 00250 Helsinki www.kapyrinne.fi

INCLUSION, RESPECT & SOMALI DIALOGUES:AN OPERATIONAL MODEL FOR ACTIVITIES ENHANCING THE WELLBEING OF OLDER SOMALI WOMEN.

Jade Project final reportAuthors: Hanna Rantala, Hamdi Moalim & Ruth FrancoContact: Soili Mustonen, Käpyrinne ry Cover and layout: Bárbara RebolledoTranslation: Michelle Kaila & Tuomas KailaPrinting house: Multiprint, Helsinki 2016

Käpyrinne’s Jade Project began in June 2013 and was brought to conclusion in February 2016. The objective of this three-year-long project, funded by RAY (Finland’s Slot Machine Association), was to support and enhance the performance ability of older women of African ethnicity. The project was a part of the nation-wide program Eloisa ikä (Active Age) administered by RAY and Vanhustyön keskusliitto (The Finnish Association of Welfare of Older People).

RAY 2013–2015 | INCLUSION, RESPECT & SOMALI DIALOGUES 3

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & MAHAD SANID 5

INTRODUCTION6

1. A FUTURE CHALLENGE OR AN INVISIBLE GROUP: THE BACKGROUND OF JADE PROJECT

8

2. ENHANCEMENT OF WELLBEING THROUGH INCLU-SION: THE OBJECTIVES OF JADE PROJECT

12

3. ENHANCING HOLISTIC WELLBEING WITH SERVICE USER PARTICIPATION18

4. GIVING THE SERVICE USER A VOICE THROUGH ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES40

5. MAKING DIVERSITY A PART OF ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES46

6. PRODUCTS54

7. THE IMPACT OF THE PROJECT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS & AFFILIATES

64

8. CHALLENGES70

9. CONCLUSION: PROMISING PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED DURING JADE PROJECT

74

REFERENCES78

ANNEXES: SWOT ANALYSIS80


The Jade project has been a perspective-widening learning experience. The nearly three-year-long project has developed into something very heart-felt and homely, something that evokes a myriad of stories and sensations in one’s mind.

During our project, 76 Somali mothers walked in through the Kantin pysäkki’s doors. Over half of them companied us throughout this journey. Jade Project was their project; it was led and steered by their voices. The project’s products, the level of its influ-ence and its accomplishments were reached thanks to their persistence and strength. Mahad sanid!

Yet Jade was made of more voices than those of its 2,3 project workers and 76 Somali mothers. 24 ardent volunteers were involved, and it was their heartfelt commitment that enabled the creation of various activity groups. Also, the expertise and ideas of our affiliates were an important part of the equa-tion throughout the span of the whole project. We are especially grateful to Eva Rönkkö (Eläkeläiset ry), Yuko Kametani and Petri Komulainen (Kasvokkain-toiminta, Finnish Refugee Council), Salla-Maija Hakola and Outi Tjurin (Yhdenvertainen vanhuus-project, Seta) and Elina Rahmani, who, along with being our affili-ates also offered us extremely valuable peer support during the project. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Vihreä Veräjä project (Green Gate) for bringing something special into our project.

Jade’s counselling group helped us both in devel-oping the narration concerning our undertaking, and in spreading and passing the Somali mothers’ stories on, enabling them to reach various organisations. We would like to thank the chairman of the coun-selling group, Assi Liikanen (the board of Käpyrinne ry/Valli) and the members of the counselling group, Ritva Rautio (Helsinki Elderly Council), Riitta Salin (Moniheli ry), Jenni Tuominen, Daniela Björklund,

Kaisla Löyttyjärvi and Riikka Laitinen (Monikanaiset ry), and Päivi Sundell (City of Helsinki, Immigration Services).

We are also grateful to our background organization Käpyrinne ry, whose support provided a platform for our work and for our research. On the other hand, the hospitality of the community at Kantin pysäkki, Töölö, was instrumental in helping to build Jade’s “home”. Thank you! We would also like to extend our thanks to Olli Lehtonen and Helena Kurki for the work they spearheaded, and for taking the time to write Jade’s project application.

I would also like to thank my wonderful colleagues Ruth Franco, Hamdi Moalim and Soili Mustonen. The support and confidence received from you, along with your creativity, your will to innovate, your positivity and expertise were instrumental in creating a basis for the diverse activities and in creating an inspiring work environment. I would also like to extend my thanks to Satu Sileekangas, Bukola Omodona, Eungyung Kim, Bárbara Rebolledo and Michelle Kaila, for their help in developing and realizing this project.

Last, but not least, I would like to express my grat-itude to RAY (Finland’s Slot Machine Association) for recognizing the value of the older Somali women living in this society, and for choosing us to partake in the Active Age program. Finally, I would also like to thank The Finnish Association for the Welfare of Older People and Active Age co-ordination project, and the whole Active Age network for all their support, help and lively enthusiasm. Being a part of this programme and project has been a fantastic experience.

Helsinki, February 2nd, 2016

Hanna Rantala

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & MAHAD SANID

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & MAHAD SANID


INTRODUCTION

“In our home country we were independent and capable ladies. Here in Finland we are perceived as helpless, illiterate women. At Jade, we can express ourselves in our native language and thus we regain our voice.” (A 62 year old Somali mother, Project Diary 2015)

Jade was a three-year-long (2013-2015) innova-tion project, part of the nationwide Active Age (Eloisa ikä) program funded by RAY (Finland’s Slot Machine Association) and co-ordinated by The Finnish Association for the Welfare of Older People (Vanhustyön keskusliitto). Jade started up in June 2013. Originally, it was a project conceived by the Helsinki-based Kantti ry, which in 2015 merged with Käpyrinne ry, as Kantti ry transferred its oper-ations, assets and debts to Käpyrinne ry.

The mission of the Jade Project was to promote the integration and holistic wellbeing of women of African ethnicity who are over 50 years of age, to map out their needs and to enhance their visi-bility in social services for the elderly. A model of enhancing wellbeing through inclusion was devel-oped within the framework of the project, with the goal of putting more emphasis and attention on the older immigrant women’s needs and wishes, and in ensuring them the right to age with dignity.

In practice, Jade Project became a place where the Somali mothers were able to come together on a weekly basis, to meet up and take care of one another (‘mother’ is used in Somali language as a term of respect when addressing older women). We created a safe space for the activi-ties that suited the wishes of the mothers: prayer times were respected and a space to pray was provided. The groups were women-only groups, open to those over the age of fifty. The group

INTRODUCTION

members could participate in exercise sessions without music. Within this framework the Somali mothers improved, for instance, their physical fitness, received information on important issues concerning their lives, and were given the possi-bility to practice their Finnish. Complementarily, we could also learn more about the mothers´ needs and wishes, and were able to pass on this infor-mation to experts and students working within the fields of health and social services and in the care for the elderly, thus seeking to improve the situa-tion of older Somali women within the field of social services for the elderly.

A number of well-functioning practices were devel-oped during the project. These operating models, on which the actual work was based on, in the end, enabled the results, effects and outputs of the project. (1) The first one of these established prac-tices was working with the participants using their own native language. The using of Somali language gave the participants the means to express them-selves, enhanced the relationship between the participants and the project team, and so enabled us to gain a deeper understanding of the issues involving the participants´ wellbeing. By using the participants´ native language, their opinions could also become the core of the project´s advocacy work. (2) The methods utilized in the project were based on constant dialogue between the project team and the participants. This strengthened the mutual understanding concerning the Jade project at both ends, and clarified the specific responsi-bilities of both parties. The dialogue also built the basis for interaction based on trust, which later on enabled discussions concerning difficult issues, helped the research work, and broadened the potential of the mutual decision-making element included in the project. (3) The values promoted


INTRODUCTION

by Jade Project, i.e. listening to and respecting one another, and considering everyone as equals, were visible not only in the service providing process, but also in the internal development of the project team, and in the realization and evaluation of the project, as a means to make use of all of our strengths and insights. Regular project meetings, developmental discussions, the setting of annual goals, making of the SWOT analysis, as well as investing in employee wellbeing, created the framework which enabled us to have a mutual vision of the project's desired direction and to see its goals with clarity. (4) The inclusive work method was utilized also with the groups affiliated with the project. Tight bonds with our collaborators, networking, and confidence in our affiliates’ expertise enabled the project to operate on a wide spectrum both in service-pro-viding, advocacy work, and in decision-making processes. (5) The embedding of the project began from the very start. As our background organiza-tion was open-minded and interested in developing its own operations, we had the chance to pilot a working model for enhancing diversity in customer work also within the background organization, with the added benefit of so improving Jade Project's research work. Moreover, we ensured in the design process that some of the activity groups could continue on a regular basis also after the project. For instance, the activity groups directed by volunteers were created in co-operation with our affiliates with more permanent funding.

The goal of this final report is to give an analytical summary of the work done by Jade, its impact, and the challenges it has faced. In section 1, we provide the reader with some background on the general need for the types of services Jade is providing, and give a brief description of the project’s oper-ational environment. In section 2, we describe the project's objectives, after which we proceed to a summary concerning the customer service work (section 3), followed by a presentation of the advo-cacy activities (sections 4 and 5) and the project's

outputs (section 6). In sections 7 and 8, we analyse the project from the perspective of our clients, employees, volunteers and affiliates. Section 9 gives a summary of the final report as a whole. The annexes give the reader a chance to take a more detailed look at the evaluation of the project team.

A FUTURE CHALLENGE OR AN INVISIBLE GROUP: THE BACKGROUND OF JADE PROJECT

1.



When the Jade project began, we had limited knowledge of our target group and its needs, as relatively few studies had been done concerning Somali mothers and older immigrants in Finland at the time. There had been publications on various group work methods (Nylund 2008; Vainio & Pietarinen 2010), one licentiate thesis on group activities of ageing Somali men (Hilderborg 2012), and several student theses on multicultural group activities. Mulki Mölsä and Marja Tiilikainen, on their part, had studied older Somalis’ perceptions on mental health (Mölsä 2008; Mölsä & Tiilikainen 2010). The Maamu research project, a study commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Welfare, focusing on immigrants of Kurdish, Somali or Russian ethnicity, from ages 18 to 64, provided us with information on the perspectives of holistic wellbeing and the parameters that can be used to quantify it (Castaneda et al. 2012). At that point, however, there were no sources available containing the kinds of thoughts, hopes and needs that the Somali mothers expressed. Thus, as we began to design our project, we turned to sources, studies and project reports published abroad. The five-year-long” Fit as a Fiddle” project executed by Age UK (Age UK 2012) became a defining point of reference for Jade Project.

OLDER SOMALIS IN THE MUNICIPAL DOCUMENTS & RESEARCHThere is a relatively small pool of residents with an immigrant background living in Finland. According to the Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus), 4,5 % of the country’s population speaks some other language than Finnish, Swedish or Sami as a first language (Tilastokeskus 2014). The majority of them are concentrated in the metropolitan area, and in Helsinki alone, the percentage of residents with an immigrant background is 10,5 % (Helsingin Kaupunki 2014a). According to the immigration and diversity report commissioned by the city of

Helsinki, a small fraction of them are older persons, i.e. over 65 years of age (Helsingin kaupunki 2014b).

The older persons with an immigrant background are often described as “a challenge to be faced in the future”. Indeed, when looking at the city of Helsinki´s statistics it appears that there is no “urgency”. In the city’s strategical planning scheme, one sentence is devoted to them: “The older immi-grants will be taken notice of as the city develops its care for the elderly.” (Helsingin kaupunki 2013). In an interview with the newspaper Hufvustadsbladet, the Director of Immigration Services, Sari Karisto, states that the issues concerning ageing have been put on the back-burner for now, and are going to be resolved during the following years (Hellman 2014).

Yet, there is a population of older people with an immigrant background living in the city of Helsinki. The situation is, in fact, more critical as it may appear, as in addition to those already of 65 years of age, in several third countries one is often considered older at the age of 551 . Given this, the statistics appear in a quite different light: the number of older immigrants living in Finland exceeds the general assessment. According to the pensioneers´ association Eläkeläiset ry's estima-tion, the total number of older immigrants living in Finland is around 30 000, which would be enough to fill a small city (Hellman 2014). The exact number living in Helsinki is not known, since this group has not been delineated in the city’s statis-tics. According to Statistics Finland, in turn, the number of people with immigrant background over the age of 55 is growing rapidly whilst it is also becoming more ethnically diverse. Within the next 10 years, a growing number of older people living

1 According to Mölsä and Tiilikainen, it is impossi-ble to define the ages of Somalis who live in Finland, since in Somalia, age is not quantified in a chronological manner (Mölsä & Tiilikainen 2008).



Statistics 1: Foreign nationals over 40 years of age in the Uusimaa region, men and women (Tilastokeskus 2015)

in the Uusimaa region (Southern Finland) will be of either Asian or North African ethnicity.

During our search for information, we noticed how many studies emphasized the changes in the lives of Somali men in the diaspora. It was stated that the collapsing of their social roles had a negative influ-ence on their wellbeing (El Sohl 1993; Hilderborg 2012; Mölsä 2008). Much less had been written about Somali women’s experiences in the diaspora. In some studies it was argued that the improve-ment of their economic status in the diaspora had empowered Somali women (Crosby 2008). The Norwegian studies demonstrate that the improve-ment in the women’s social status is in fact illusory, since their dependence on welfare services has increased (Brochmann & Skevik Grødem 2013; Engebritsen 2007). On the other hand, the women seldom consider the benefits they receive as exclu-sively theirs, since they use the resources for the benefit of the family and relatives (Engebritsen 2007). According to a Canadian study, the older women also experienced other challenges brought on by their changed situation. In Somalia, the

everyday life was busy and everyone had a mean-ingful role to play as a member of the community. In the diaspora the level of dependency has increased, while their social roles have lost their meaning (Lagacé et al. 2012).

In the Finnish studies on older Somalis the focus has been on the social and health services, and health. According to a report concerning discrim-ination, conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the older Somalis consider themselves to be in good health. However, they are more frequently in need of care for long-term sicknesses, and as an age group their state of health is worse than that of their peers among the native population (Törmä et al. 2014). Also according to the Maamu study by THL (National Institute for Health and Welfare) Somalis are generally happy with their state of health, even though, for example, over 80% of Somali women between the ages of 18 and 64 report having experienced a trauma, and over 40% of them are clearly overweight, with a weight index higher than 30 (Castaneda et al. 2013). Tapio Halla, a medical specialist working at the psychological


polyclinic in Tampere, reports that Somalis often suffer from unaccountable pains and panic symp-toms. According to him, trauma-related stress can indirectly manifest as various symptoms, ranging from “effects on the person’s memory, the ability to concentrate and even his or her capability of learning a new language” (Mubarak et al. 2015).

As of now, the relationship between the older women’s health and their general wellbeing has not been studied. The research illuminates the fact that among the Somali community, there is a high threshold to seek public services and especially mental health services, and that the Somali immi-grants are also less frequent users of public health services in general, compared to the native popula-tion (Mölsä et al. 2010; Gissler et al. 2006). Instead, it is quite common to seek help from within one’s own community or, for example, through prayer (Mölsä & Tiilikainen 2008). Marja Tiilikainen emphasizes the increasing importance of religion, especially in the lives of the Somali women: Islam can offer a source of practical and moral support in the new living environment, and can also partially help to alleviate the traumas caused by war. On the other hand, it is a way for the women to construct their new identity in Finland as Muslims, as members of the Islamic community (Tiilikainen 2003).

THE OLDER SOMALIS’ ACTIVITIES PROGRAM BEGINS AT THE KANTIN PYSÄKKI

At the end of 2000’s, The Finnish Union for Senior Services (Valli) carried out a project named Monikulttuurisuutta vanhustyöhön (Including Multiculturalism into Senior Services). As part of this project, group activities for Somalis were established at Kantin pysäkki in 2008, the target group being Somali mothers over 55 years of age. The visitor count grew rapidly and there was an

increased need for activities on a more regular basis. The employees in charge of directing the Somali groups also started to identify a number of challenges that caused difficulties in the Somali mothers’ daily lives, and assessed that more resources would be needed to alleviate these prob-lems. Especially challenges concerning mental wellbeing were taken note of, along with the fact that the members of the group did not take much advantage of the public services available to them. The employees also noticed that using public transport was difficult for the Somali mothers, thus making the threshold of using the aforementioned services higher.

As Jade Project was gearing up, it was essential for us to approach our undertaking with an open mind and, most importantly, to consider everything from the perspective of our service users. By stressing the importance of one’s native language, and of dialogue, the Somali women were taken on board to plan the activities included in the project. Jade Project’s weekly program and workshops were devised according to the wishes of our participants (section 3). Since our target group was largely invisible in our society, it was all the more impor-tant to also increase the visibility of their needs (sections 4 and 5).


WELLBEING THROUGH INCLUSION: THE OBJECTIVES OF JADE PROJECT

2.



“Despite my longing, I seek for the pleas-ant things in life. I don’t dwell on my solitude. That’s the secret to a good life. Despite my long-ing, there are many good things in my life - I’m healthy.” (Destined for a New Homeland 2015)

Jade Project’s mothers relate their reminiscences from Somalia. Many of them have lived a nomadic life, which meant that every day was full of activi-ties. The mothers were responsible for taking care of the children and preparing the food, they made handicrafts, built huts, and looked after the fami-ly’s livestock, the chickens, goats and camels. The mothers who had lived in an urban environment, on the other hand, told us that they used to do busi-ness, or sell the produce from their farm. One of them worked as a mediator, while another mother was employed by a children’s home. There were also other memories, alongside those revolving around their workdays. Some of the mothers remember how, on their way home, they would stop by for a swim on the banks of Mogadishu or in the river near their village. The sun, the nature and the climate of Somalia are recurring themes in their recollections (The Project Diaries).

Then the war broke out. Many of the women were forced to flee. First some had to cross the border over to Ethiopia or Kenya, and from there on the journey continued. Jade’s mothers came to Finland along with approximately 16 000 other Somalis. Some of them were among the first Somalis to arrive here.

Settling in Finland transformed their lives, they tell. The respected members of their communities were now identified as illiterate women. There were no employment opportunities, and when they applied for language courses, the younger immigrants were given preference and placed ahead of them in the queue. Many were estranged from their relatives and their communities. Unlike in Somalia, where

they had had a good deal of mobility in their lives, in Finland the cold weather conditions and their forced indolence kept them much more indoors, within the four walls of their homes. There were less incentives to go out. Stopping for a little dip in the ocean or the river was no longer feasible.

As Jade Project proceeded, so grew the confidence between the participants and the project team. Our understanding as professionals increased, and we became more convinced that all activities had to be driven by the group´s needs. Nothing should be taken for granted. We noticed that there was a clear demand for group activities, but also the impor-tance of advocacy work crystallized in our minds. The mantra of the three-year-long project was the promotion of equity and a participatory approach; seeing the older person primarily as a unique indi-vidual who has the full right to be who they are.

Four objectives were set for the Jade project: (1) promoting inclusion, (2) enhancing wellbeing and fluent management of one’s daily life, (3) mapping the needs and circumstances of women of African descent, and (4) increasing their visibility within the field of services.

PROMOTING INCLUSION

“Inclusion refers to the interactive development between the immigrant and society, with the objective of providing the immigrant the neces-sary skills and know-how needed in the society and in the working life, while simultaneously giv-ing the immigrant the possibility to preserve his or her native language and culture.” (Ministry of Employment and the Economy 2014)

The Ministry of Interior ’s discrimination report, titled Making the Diversity Among the Elderly Visible, points out that one major cause for discrimi-nation towards older immigrants is their insufficient


TULEVAISUUDEN HAASTE VAI NÄKYMÄTÖN RYHMÄ: TAUSTAA JADE -PROJEKTILLE



proficiency in Finnish (Törmä et al. 2014). Other studies, on the other hand, stress the importance of culture-sensitive care; by establishing an effi-cient level of communication and by making sure that all relevant information is available, it is possible to lower the threshold for seeking services by the elderly who do not speak the language of the native population (Mölsä et al. 2010; Pavlish et al. 2010).

The Somali mothers say they are satisfied with Finnish health care and social services, but few of them seem to be familiar with the services avail-able to them. They rely largely on the support and knowledge of their relations and acquaintances.

Jade Project’s objective was to promote inclu-sion (1) by familiarizing the service user with the mechanics and principles, rights and obligations characteristic of the Finnish welfare society (2) by lowering the threshold for the customer to use the available services, (3) by advancing the service user's participation in the Finnish society, and (4) by instructing the service providers to offer their services in a culturally-sensitive manner. In prac-tice, we organized various workshops and events, provided the participants, in Somali language, guid-ance in seeking services, and organized Finnish lessons and courses in basic mathematics. We also became active members in various networks, such as the Helsinki Program for Ageing, Stadin ikäohjelma, and promoted inclusion in our interac-tions with others service providers.

ENHANCING WELLBEING AND THE FLUENT MANAGEMENT OF ONE’S DAILY LIFE ”I used to be a visible human being, a citizen, a person whose words are comprehendible, and I didn’t have to turn to others for help. I was inde-pendent. It’s hard to be invisible” (Mubarak et al. 2015)

It has been observed in several studies, that the older members of the ethnic minorities, just like the members of the native population, fall victim to depression and dementia, and face the risk of social exclusion. Poor language skills, cultural gender norms, the humanitarian crisis in the background and having immigrated at an older age, however, are all factors that can aggravate the aforemen-tioned risk. (Ruspini 2009; Shah et al. 2009).

As was stated above, the threshold for seeking wellness services is high among older Somalis. In addition, the fluent management of their daily lives is disrupted by their dependence on the support and knowledge of their relatives. By bringing the Somali mothers on board, and encouraging them to participate in the planning of the project’s activities, our goal was to make sure that our group activi-ties would enhance the mothers´ holistic wellbeing and provide them with the necessary know-how to manage their daily lives with fluency. In practice, we created a weekly programme to enhance their wellbeing and inclusion, and organized workshops and information events to build opportunities to lead a well-managed daily life.

MAPPING THE NEEDS OF OLDER WOMEN OF AFRICAN DESCENT

“What am I able to do? It does cause me some anxiety that no one has asked me. If they had been in contact with me, I might have been able to be of more use to the society and myself.” (Destined for a New Homeland 2015)

In Finland, the older immigrants’ thoughts on ageing have been surveyed very little. The cita-tion above illustrates the quite prevalent feeling among Somali mothers that their thoughts have not been taken into account, nor have their skills



been recognized. Many of them feel invisible and that they are considered to be of no use.

Jade Project’s objective was to work with older women of African ethnicity. Despite our efforts, we were unable to find participants from various countries of origin. Thus, as the project developed, we modified the objective; focus was placed on mapping out the Somali women’s needs 2

We sought to map out the Somali mother’s needs by, among other things, including them in the planning of their own activities, and by supporting student theses, which focused on the lives and group activ-ities of older Somali women; by observing and documenting discussion groups; by taking part in the Active Age program´s research; and by encour-aging the mothers to express their personal needs. We discuss the results and products achieved through these methods in more detail in sections 4 and 5.

INCREASING THE VISIBILITY OF OLDER IMMIGRANTS IN THE FIELD OF SERVICES

“In the program reports concerning the care pol-icy for the elderly, there was much less focus on the older immigrants themselves than on the integration programs. The newer reports contain much fewer mentions of older immigrants, and they are outlined in a more compact and reduced manner than in the program reports of 2012.”(Heikkinen & Lumme-Sandt 2013).

As the project progressed, the importance of advo-cacy work grew. Jade Project took part in various networks and working groups, co-operated with

2 We will discuss outreach work in more detail in the final report’s section 8: Challenges.

educational institutions, and developed educa-tional materials for developing the diversity skills of the personnel working in care services for the elderly. The objective of these procedures was to increase the focus on the needs of older immi-grants within the field of social services, health care and in the activities of NGOs, and on the other hand to promote a more extensive focus on the importance of equality in practical care work and wellbeing services.

HOLISTIC WELLBEING THROUGH THE ACTIVITIES

3.



We’re studying math and Finnish twice a week… I’ve lost some weight, I feel lighter. We also have swimming lessons, and soon we’ll be going to a camp. Another thing: it doesn’t feel good to be home alone. But when all of us mothers gather here together, and we discuss all the things we have done, that’s very good. If I had kept up with staying at home alone, I would have all kinds of ailments, my knees would hurt… But here we are, and now we’re on the move. It’s really good." (A 57 year old Somali mother, Pöntinen & Ylhäisi 2015).

All together, 76 Somali mothers participated in the group activities at Kantin pysäkki. This is about 20% of Somali women over the age of 50 living in the Uusimaa region of Southern Finland (Tilastokeskus 2015). Compared to other oper-ators, altogether 74 women participated in the Jade Project's activities during 2015, whereas, for example, workshops targeting different language groups, organized by the municipally led Kontula Service Center were registered to have reached 100 participants during 2015 (Reported during the MOVA meeting 5.2.2016). Along with the Somali mothers, other older people - men and women from different cultural backgrounds - participated in these workshops and events organized by Jade, and these were not included when tallying the number of the project’s participants. Overall, the activities reached the targeted Somali-speaking group effectively.

Jade Project's employees, our volunteers and part-ners were responsible for arranging the activities for the participants. The active role of our volun-teers was essential in enabling the broad base of the weekly activities. The volunteers were in charge of arranging the weekly mathematics and Finnish language lessons, as well as assisting with organizing various events. The volunteers found the Jade Project through the Akateemiset naiset association’s Luetaan yhdessä network (Let´s

Read Together), with the assistance of Finnish Refugee Council´s volunteer co-ordinator, and through Jade’s own inquiries. Some of the partic-ipants also found their way to Kantin pysäkki by their own initiative. In total 24 volunteers took part in Jade Project.

The principles guiding the project were specified and agreed upon together with Jade participants. We committed ourselves to respecting the Somali mothers’ wishes on all issues they considered impor-tant. Therefore, all through the project activities, Islamic prayer times were followed and respected. No instrumental music was included in the activi-ties, the women were never photographed without their permission, and the mothers were provided a space reserved exclusively for women whenever possible. The participants, for their part, took care of cleaning up the premises, collecting the dishes and of inquiring for possible new members within the Somali community. Most of the new participants were found by them. As the project progressed, the participants also assumed a more important role concerning the project communications.

Some challenges facing the realization of the project in practice resulted from the culturally differing perceptions of time by the Somali mothers on one hand, and the mainstream Finnish society on the other. The Somali mothers strictly adhered to Islamic norms pertaining to prayers and their timing. Jade Project's activities were planned with these norms in mind, but as the activities were arranged along with native Finnish participants, i.e. a group with differing time conventions, there were some cultural clashes. In these situations, Jade Project operated as a mediator: the Somali mothers were made aware of the importance of punctuality in Finnish culture, and on the other hand our affil-iates were urged to pay attention to the prayer times while planning the project activities, espe-cially when older persons were present.



Judging by the feedback we received, especially from the Somali mothers and our affiliates, the project activities were considered a positive expe-rience. According to one of our affiliates, “Jade’s activities have been especially supportive of older Somali women in their daily lives. It has provided them with a venue for dialogue, and encouraged the women to both think about and to improve their own wellbeing. The undertaking has definitely served an important purpose.”(Evaluation by the affiliates, Survey Monkey 2016).

Assessing the impacts of the project activities, another affiliate writes:

"The opportunity to meet up has provided the participants the chance to talk with their peers in their own native language, share what is on their

minds, and get support from the project workers when there is need. They have been able to expe-rience something they couldn’t have without Jade (daytrips, visits, etc.). That gives you strength and helps you find you own place in your new home country. You can also see empowerment in the ways in which the participants have become more prepared to meet up with Finnish natives and share their experiences. Before I couldn’t have imagine that they would have had the courage to take part in a video about older immigrants. Also Jade has made an impact in advocacy work, and contributed to collaborative surveys.“ (Evaluation by the affili-ates, Survey Monkey 2016).



THE WEEKLY GROUP ACTIVITIES

The weekly activities for the participants were at the heart of Jade project. Jade’s employees and volunteers were in charge of directing the group activities. Altogether, 76 women participated in the weekly group activities.

THE EXERCISE GROUP & THE GYM

Visits by the exercise group: 1321 visit (From August 2013 to December 2015) Number of participants in the exercise group: 70Gym visits: 225 (years 2014-2015)Instructors: Satu Sileekangas (from August 2013 to November 2014), Bukola Omodona (from November 2015 to December 2015), Sanna Valkeapää (January and February 2016)

Out of the activities provided by Jade Project, the exercise group was the most popular. With 15-40 weekly participants, we had to organize two sequential sessions. The participants were also offered the possibility to use the gym at Kantin pysäkki before the directed exercise. The exercise group was devised to support the older partici-pants to manage various changes brought on by ageing. In the groups, special emphasis was placed on improving muscle strength and balance, as well as on encouraging physical activity through one’s own initiative.

The mothers' memories of Somalia were utilized in the classes: for example, the traditional way of washing clothes was used as a movement exer-cise. The responsibility of instructing the exercises was also extended to the members of the group, thus improving their commitment to the group activities.

THE RESULTS, IMPACT & CHALLENGES“I used to be overweight, now my weight has reduced in the exercise group, and also my Finnish has improved. I’ve been very happy.” (A 56 year old Somali mother, Pöntinen & Ylhäisi 2015)

Based on the votes given in our feedback elec-tions, the exercise group was considered to be a good and important group. Approximately 90 % of the participants thought the group was good and important (good-average-bad). In the interviews conducted by Pöntinen and Ylhäisi, many of the participants told that they were feeling lighter, and felt that moving had become easier. Based on the quantitative data collected by the exercise group’s instructor, a moderate weight loss was observed among the service users. Some of them reduced their weight in greater quantity, due to a more extensive change in lifestyle (chart 2).

The exercise instructor observed that major indi-vidual improvements were the increase in physical flexibility and the command of one’s body move-ments. The exercise instructor also noted that two of the participants’ respiratory problems had decreased.

The service users were also encouraged to exer-cise by their own initiative. They were encouraged to take 30 minute long walks daily, to use the stairs instead of the elevator and to get a good pair of walking shoes. With the latter, a significant change was noticed by the project workers. At the begin-ning of the project, only two of the participants wore trainers, which were commonly considered by them to be “men’s footwear”. Many of the partici-pants wore light sandals until the end of September and some did not tie their shoelaces properly. At the end of 2015 around half of the service users were using trainers.



Chart 2: Weight development in the exercise group. Monitoring five different participants between November 2014 and September 2015.

“It’s good to participate in various activities: it’s good physically, and it’s mentally good to see others. Much better than to spend time at home alone. Earlier we had nothing.”(A 56 year old Somali mother, Pöntinen & Ylhäisi 2015)

According to the service users' feedback, partic-ipating in Jade’s activities had improved their physical mobility, had made them feel lighter and had been a pre-emptive way to avert physical and mental problems. In addition, some of the women reported that their back pains had reduced. One service user, diagnosed with diabetes, stated that an improvement in her blood levels had been moni-tored during her control visits with her doctor.

The changing of the exercise group’s instructor in the midst of the project brought some challenges to managing the group activities. Satu Sileekangas, shared physiotherapist between Jade and Kantin pysäkki, went on unpaid leave in 2014, and replacing her was proven somewhat difficult. Geriatric Bukola Omodona assumed the exercise instructor ’s duties in November 2014, first with hourly payment, and then starting from March 2015, as the project’s part-time employee (30%). After Bukola’s contract ended in December 2015, Sanna Valkeapää began working as an hourly employee in January 2016. Both of them introduced new ideas and devel-oped inclusive methods for organizing the group activities.



With the group’s activities in mind, special emphasis was put on the following challenges: According to the exercise instructors, the participants would have preferred to have the exercise sessions on a more frequent basis. But, due to cultural reasons, many of them reported that they could not participate in a public exercise group. However, the mothers hoped that their own community would take more notice of the challenges the older persons face with their physical condition and general wellbeing and that they would seek to provide suitable exer-cise groups for them.

In the light of our experiences, it is apparent that there is great demand for culturally-sensitive exer-cise groups. The high number of service users indicates that the number of potential service users exceeds the number of available groups.

SOMALI SPEAKING DISCUSSION AND WELLBEING GROUP

Number of visits: 793 visitsInstructors: Ruth Franco & Hamdi Moalim

The discussion group operated in the manner of a peer support group. It was directed, in Finnish, by Ruth Franco, a project employee and a psycholo-gist, while the project employee and a practical nurse Hamdi Moalim worked as a translator. The objective of the group was primarily to enhance the mental wellbeing of the participants. Somali language played a significant role in the group’s activities. Discussions in the participants' native language enabled a deeper level of addressing and processing the various subject matters. The discussion and wellness group also served as an instrument for passing on and spreading infor-mation concerning the project’s activities, and for cumulating relevant information about the partici-pants´ personal needs.

The discussion and wellness group’s activities were realized through interaction between the instructors and the service users. The instructors introduced subject matters that they considered important, especially when the topics pertaining to the issues that were closely related to the partici-pants’ lives, while discussing them was considered difficult by the participants. Some of the subject matters raised by the instructors were mental health issues, domestic violence, polygamy, sexual diversity and the group’s internal dynamics. The group members also discussed the Charlie Hebdo terror strikes and the Tapanila gang rape and their impact on the relationship between the Somali community and the native Finnish population.

On the other hand, the discussion group was receptive to issues which the members themselves considered important and which they wished to discuss in more detail, especially those concerning the Finnish language and citizenship, since these were matters that had a direct impact on the Somali mothers’ daily lives on many levels. The mothers stated that they would highly value having Finnish citizenship, since they could not travel to meet their family members with an Alien’s Passport. “Some of my children live abroad. Some of my grandchildren don’t know me. There are times I don’t even want to talk with them, because I miss them so badly it hurts. That’s why I’m calling my grandchildren less frequently now." (63 year old Somali mother, Project diary 2014).

On the lines of the operating model Kasvokkain project, developed by Finnish Refugee Council, the role of the instructors was to support the discus-sion in a constructive way, both in Finnish and in the participant’s native language, and, when the need arose, to provide a possibility to discuss the issues in a more extensive manner. Behind many issues affecting mental wellbeing was a concrete need for specific information. For example, a specific info session on applying for Finnish


ASIAKASTOIMINNALLA KOKONAISVALTAISTA HYVINVOINTIA



citizenship was arranged for the service users in Somali language.

As the project got started, the operating principles of the group were agreed upon together, through group consultation. The responsibilities of the group instructors and those of the group members were determined, as well as what was expected of the group and how the discussions were to be conducted. At the very offset it was made clear that all discussions within the group would also be trans-lated to the director, who did not speak Somali, and that thus the language would not define the things that were discussed with those not belonging to their community. The straightforward manner of the group consultations helped to create a basis of mutual trust and the spirit of equality within the framework of the project activities and, on the other hand, ensured that our service users perceived the project as beneficial to their wellbeing.

THE RESULTS, THE IMPACT & THE CHALLENGES

“It’s important for me to come here and talk about stress, since I am currently in a stressful life situation."(58 year old Somali mother, Project Diaries)

According to the project employees´ diary obser-vations, the discussion group provided a space for the Somali mothers for sharing their positive and negative experiences, and for open discussions. Participating in the group, the mothers were able to offer peer support to one another and had the chance to receive more information on the issues they considered important in their lives.

Operating by using the participants’ own native language was instrumental in creating confidence and providing information. One of the instructors



writes: “Through the group discussions, we were able to delineate possible obstacles for their (the Somali mothers) inclusion, wellbeing and health. They clearly had a strong desire and need for group activities of this kind. They would use the expres-sion “invisible” to describe themselves.” (Survey Monkey 2016). As an example, the instructor relates how one of the Somali mothers felt exhausted in her role as a family caregiver. Through the discus-sion group’s activities, a meeting was arranged for her with Polli ry's Yomo-project, a project whose objective is to support family caregivers with an immigrant background. Many other participants reported that the official letters they received caused them stress, since they were unable to understand their content. These service users were directed to service guidance hour provided in Somali language by Jade´s project worker.

Due to the taboos related to stress and mental health, the issue of mental wellbeing was given special importance. Using video materials3 in Somali language, for example, was one of the work methods, which helped to raise topics of discussion on beliefs and curing methods related to mental health. At the beginning of the activities, the issues related to mental health were raised by the instruc-tors, but as the project progressed, the group members began to open up about issues they considered difficult. For example, one of the Somali mothers told the group about her father’s mental problems, and of how his condition had affected her childhood.

On the other hand, the issue of trauma was brought up at a very early stage of the project, as some of the service users wanted to discuss their expe-riences of war and of the exile that had followed after. These stories, often shared during the last minutes of the session, caused distress in the other

3 A project focusing on mental health: an animation film in Somali language, with English subtitles, titled Egal Shidad: Stories for Somali Health (2009).

members of the group and made the directors wary of the possibility of a secondary trauma. That’s why, at the beginning of the project, it was agreed upon that the discussion and wellness group would focus on enhancing wellbeing; discussions related to traumatic experiences would be carefully moni-tored, in order to alleviate any harmful mental impact on the group members. Instead, the service users were encouraged to seek help individu-ally, in case they still felt affected by the trauma. Since many of the group members had had trau-matic experiences, one full session was reserved exclusively for addressing post-traumatic stress disorder.

At the beginning of the project, a problem was posed by the service users’ reluctance to share the emotionally rich discussions with those who were not members of their own community. The Somali mothers tried to conceal their discussions from the non-Somali-speaking instructor, and tried to stop the Somali-speaking employee from translating. It was agreed upon that the role of the Somali-speaking employee was to act as a translator, and that everything that was said aloud would be translated. Thus language did not separate people from one another, and it was made more clear that the objective of Jade Project was to enhance the mothers’ wellbeing.

The discussion group also became an instrument for collecting data. At times, reporting on the group was quite strenuous for the instructors. From the beginning of 2014, they began using, alongside with the project diary, a tracking form in which they listed the topics commonly discussed in the group, possible challenges and ways to sort them out. This made it easier to outline the content of the



group’s activities, putting more focus on recurring themes of discussion and the fields in which more information was needed.

The challenges the discussion group faced are discussed more extensively in section 8, as many of these challenges extended to the project’s other activities.

FINNISH LANGUAGE WITH LET'S READ TOGETHER NETWORK

Number of visits: 402 Number of volunteers: 12

”Not being able to speak Finnish is difficult. It is said: ’when in Rome, do as the Romans do’. I would like to learn Finnish. I can’t ask for help in Finnish. Not being able to speak Finnish is the most challenging thing in my daily life.” (Destined for a New Homeland 2015)

The written language hasn’t had a very promi-nent place in the Somali society. The development of standard written Somali language began in the 1970s. As the school system was restructured, primarily children living in urban areas were entered in the school system. Boys were given preference. The majority of Jade’s participants did not go to school nor learned to read and write in their native country.

The oral tradition, on the other hand, has played a major role in the mothers’ lives. In their culture, rich and poetic language bespoke of wisdom, life expe-rience and dignity, and it was generally expected that people, as they aged, would begin to pay more and more attention to their verbal expression.

After immigrating to Finland, the day to day life changed. There were not enough Finnish language

courses available for the elderly. (Törmä et al. 2014). According to one Finnish as the second language -teacher (S2 teacher) and a Jade volun-teer, the situation was made even more difficult by the fact that, before 2000, there were hardly any separate language groups for those who were illiterate (Project Diary 5.2.2015). According to the Discrimination Report, the inability to speak Finnish was the greatest cause of worry for the older Somali women (Törmä et al. 2014).

Jade’s participants told us they would very much like to be able to converse and exchange pleas-antries with their neighbours. To promote the Somali mothers’ Finnish skills, Jade organized Finnish lessons with the Akateemiset naiset ry association’s Luetaan yhdessä network (Let´s Read Together). The first Let´s Read Together group for older women was established at Kantin pysäkki in February 2014. The teaching was done by volunteers.

THE RESULTS, THE IMPACTS & THE CHALLENGES

The service users felt the Finnish language group was important for them. However, the scarce number of classes (1h/week) had an impact on the effectiveness of the training. Despite this, both the volunteers and the project employees observed that the participants had been clearly emboldened to take more initiative:

“Their courage to speak has increased, along with their confidence in being able to make them-selves understood. It’s a slow process, but well worth continuing. Also interacting with Finns in this framework is important.” (Let´s Read Together - volunteer 2014)

A challenge to managing the Finnish lessons was



posed by overlapping: many of the Jade Project’s collaborational events were held, for logis-tical reasons, on Thursdays. This overlapping had an impact on the Finnish group’s continuity. Additionally, many of the volunteers teaching Finnish expressed their desire for more support and goal-orientation. The fact that the results were not always visible impacted the volunteers:

“The results are good from the perspective of communality. The target group hasn’t made much progress with their Finnish, though, but maybe this has prompted a keener interest in studying in general. That’s good, too.” (Let´s Read Together - volunteer 2015)

Overall, the Somali mothers wished for more educational opportunities to improve their Finnish language level. Currently, The Finnish Adult Education Center of the City of Helsinki (Helsingin työväenopisto) is organizing courses for the older persons at the service centers in Kontula, Myllypuro and Kinapori. Also Jade Project’s participants were directed to these courses. There is, however, more demand for longer term courses and education focusing on different levels of knowledge.

In order to develop Let´s Read Together group’s educational objectives, and to assure its continuity, between January and February, Jade organ-ized a KAMU workshop, based on the ”learning by doing” principles, for the volunteer teachers. The course, held on two middays, was directed by Jouni Piekkari, a former lector at Metropolia, who had taken part in developing the KAMU methods. We provide further information on the importance of education in section 6, which focuses on the project evaluation.

THE MATH GROUPNumber of visits: 84 Participants: 24 Volunteers: 4

In the math group, the participants practiced the kinds of math skills that were useful in daily life. With the support of the volunteer teachers, the participants practiced, for example, paying at the cashier and developed their motoric skills with geometric exercises. In addition, the math group provided tutoring to a mother who was completing her primary school level studies.

THE RESULTS & THE IMPACTThe math group strengthened the group members’ ability to manage their daily lives and empowered them with more self-reliance. For example, one of the participants reported that she had inde-pendently corrected a price error at the cashier. Another participant described how she had found her way at the airport on her own; following the information printed on the ticket, which she had managed to comprehend, she had independently navigated her way to the boarding gate and to her seat. The third participant reported that she was managing much better in primarily school math-ematics, thanks to the tutoring she had received. (Project Diaries).

The math group faced some challenges: it’s small size, and the timing of the meetings. Originally scheduled for Tuesdays, the group meetings had to be rescheduled for Monday afternoons, in conjunc-tion with the exercise group, in order to increase the number of the math group’s participants. Eventually, the motivation to study mathematics began to wane; many of the participants found it too chal-lenging, while for others, the afternoon was not a good time. The group was dissolved in May 2015.



WATER EXERCISE

Number of visits: 257 (From September to December 2015) Directors: Raita Koskenala (SUH), Bukola Omodona & Satu SileekangasAssistants: Ogaso Ali Elmi, Hamdi Moalim, Ruth Franco & Hanna Rantala

“Let’s have some activities, not just this and that, but something that’s useful. There haven’t been too many swimming lessons, we’d like to have more of those." (64-vuotias somaliäiti, Pöntinen & Ylhäisi 2015).

Water exercise was one of the most anticipated form of group activities. During the first two years of the project, we rented a swimming pool from Sandels exercise center (5 times a year). Due to the high rent and logistical issues it was challenging to make the water exercise sessions more frequent.

As our collaboration with Kinapori service center began in June 2015, we were able to provide the participants weekly water exercise sessions from September to December 2015. The objective of the group was to promote physical exercise and to enhance, through swimming skills, self-reliant phys-ical mobility. Raita Koskenala, a teacher working at the Finnish Swimming Teaching and Life-Saving Federation association SUH (Suomen Uimaopetus- ja Hengenpelastusliitto), was recruited as the swimming teacher.

Since the number of participants was high, three separate groups were formed for 30-minute sessions. Yet due to a lack of space, many willing participants had to be turned away.

THE RESULTS & THE IMPACT

According to the swimming teachers report, the group members’ courage to move and relax in the water and to swim with the help of a floating board increased. Some of the participants learned to dive, slide and float in the water, some also learned to swim longer distances, and overall, the participants improved their swimming kicks. The swimming teacher noted in her final report that the participants’ behaviour during the group activ-ities improved, they became more receptive to the teacher’s instructions.

Some challenges occurred as well: even though the participants´ were divided into separate groups, the beginners’ group was too big, and some mothers who were not members of the group tried to partic-ipate, too. In addition, the beginners’ group was reluctant to follow instructions, and would rather do their own exercises in the water. The weaker and more fearful participants would have needed more personal support. More resources would have also been needed for assuring proper conduct at the swimming hall. Despite the directions, the partic-ipants did not wash their hair or their swimming suits properly. Another challenge was Kinapori’s pool. The director ’s opinion was that the pool was too deep and too cold for an elementary course. Ideally, water would only come up to the waist, and there would be an area in the pool where it would be possible to reach the bottom with one’s hands.

A follow-up course would benefit the service users and ensure the continuity of the swimming lessons. Only a few of the participants could manage swim-ming back and forth in the pool (approximately 10 meters), while the standard length of a pool in a swimming hall is 25 meters.

According to the swimming teacher, the women who could swim 10 meters could manage inde-pendently on the side section of a public swimming



hall. She advised the other participants to practice swimming in a pool where their feet could reach the bottom.

A challenge was also posed by the fact that there were quite few swimming sessions exclu-sively reserved for women and that, within those sessions, there were not many courses for women without swimming skills. Many of the participants desired more support and assuring, as they were in need of one-on-one guidance. For example, in Jade’s water exercise group, three directors were needed: one teacher, and at least two assistants, who saw to it that the participants sufficiently washed themselves up before the lessons, and who were in charge of the schedule and safety. Such resources are currently not available at public swimming halls. Currently, there is a women’s session every Tuesday at Jakomäki swimming hall. Also Yrjönkatu swimming hall offers a women’s session to their customers on every second day. At Yrjönkatu, the participants need to check in advance whether the lifeguard is male or female. One of our participants also reported that she had frequently encountered racism there. As for safety concerns, the Yrjönkatu pool is too deep for most of the Jade participants.

THE WORKSHOPS

Visits: 219

The workshop activities and the events were carried out along with our affiliates. During the span of the project, workshops were organized approx-imately once a month. The activities carried out together with our affiliates enhanced the partici-pants general wellbeing and served as a venue for intercultural interaction. In addition, relevant infor-mation concerning various services and available activities was conveyed to our participants.

GREEN CARE - NATURE ACTIVITIES (2014)

The number of workshops: 6Participants: From 6 to 14/workshopThe organizers: Green Cate -project (Vihreä veräjä, Sininauhaliitto ry), Tanja Gråsten and Iina Hokkanen, Helsinki Metropolia of Applied Sciences, Jade Project

The Green Care nature activities were devised according to the wishes of Jade´s mothers. The objective of the nature activities was to enhance the participants’ wellbeing by being in contact with the nature, to familiarize the participants with Finnish nature and with the various possibilities for activities the nature provides.

The nature activities were very well received and the workshops were a success. We learned many things, also through mistakes. In their feedback, the participants reported that the nature activi-ties had been beneficial for them, both physically and mentally; the activities had made them forget their everyday worries. We observed that through the workshops the participants had opened up and become more trusting. The Somali mothers and the project employees shared the same learning expe-rience, which strengthened the feeling of equality. Some of the participants told that they had tried out the things they had learned on the nature excur-sions also with their family members. One of the Somali mothers had baked Karelian pies with her children and, inspired by the workshop, had also gone mushroom gathering. The Somali mothers reported that the nature activities had given them a window into Finnish culture and its conventions.

Similarities between the Finnish and Somalian nature were discussed. Many of the participants told us of their experiences in the nature. The project team also observed the participants discuss



tending sheep and goats with Finns who had partic-ipated in the same nature activities. For example, the Somali mother who had joined the excursion to Majvik farm, considered the farm routines she witnessed to be very similar to those she had expe-rienced back home in Somalia. Her family, too, had had cows, sheep, and chickens, and had cultivated their fields (Suhonen 2015). Fishing and mushroom gathering were new experiences for the mothers. They also were not familiar with the Finnish custom of Jokamiehen oikeus, i.e. “freedom to roam."

As products of the Green Care workshops, a student thesis was written, focusing on the kinds of wellness-enhancing nature activities described above (Gråsten & Hokkanen 2014). In addition, an operational model utilizing nature activities for integration was developed for the online forum Innokylä, from where it was outlined as a news story in the SOSTE newsletter. The operating model was also presented at the Hyvä ikä fair in Tampere, on September 9th 2014.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (2014 AND 2015)

Number of workshops: 7Participants 26Organizers: Nura Hassan, Jade Project (trainee), City of Helsinki, The Finnish Adult Education Centre of the City of Helsinki, Helsinki center for promoting oral health, Jade Project, Kontula service centerIntructors: Mirva Mäkipää, Sini Tienhaara, Nura Hassan

Cooking was a very much anticipated activity. The Somali mothers were eager to learn new recipes. They were especially interested in learning to make vegetarian dishes. On the other hand, conveying nutritional information was important for the project team in the context of enhancing wellbeing.

The first four workshops were directed by Nura Hassan, a community health nurse trainee from Laurea University of Applied Sciences. The last three nutrition work shops were organized in collab-oration with the city of Helsinki. These workshops, held at Stoa, were instructed by Mirva Mäkipää, a teacher in home economics from Helsinki City Community College.

The objective of the workshops was to increase awareness on nutritional issues, such as the bene-fits of a versatile diet, the importance of dining schedules, and dental hygiene. Focus was put on the usage of sugar and salt and the methods of cooking: for example, seasoning the food with a big quantity of herbs and spices was preferred, and the food was cooked in the oven, rather than fried. Both Finnish and Somali recipes were used for cooking the dishes. In one of the workshop sessions, the participants requested to visit a grocery shop to practice independent shopping.

The participants were very satisfied with the nutri-tion workshop and hoped for a follow-up course. Many would have liked to participate in cooking classes on regular basis.

Challenges facing these workshops, realized in collaboration with the City of Helsinki, were the admittance price and the limit imposed on the group size. Even a relatively small fee was too high for many. After the price had been agreed upon, some of the potential and willing participants had to be turned away, due to the workshop’s popularity.



ETNIMU WORKSHOPS FOR MEMORY AND BRAIN HEALTH (2015-2016)

Number of workshops: 8 Participants: approximately 12Organizers: Siiri Jaakson and Urve Jaakkola, Suomen muistiasiantuntijat ryTranslator: Nura Hassan

Many Somali mothers had questions concerning dementia. When is it normal to forget things? When is forgetfulness related to stress or grief in one’s life? The issue of memory loss was not discussed very openly, though; publicly many of the mothers stated that the problem of dementia did not exist among the Somali community. As the discus-sions progressed, some of the mothers did reveal, however, that some of their relatives were in fact suffering from dementia. Eventually it became clear that many of them had somehow been affected by problems related to memory loss. Two of the Somali mothers had been caregivers to their dementia-suf-fering spouses.

The ETNIMU Project, conceived in 2015 by Suomen muistiasiantuntijat ry, spearheaded a number of pioneer workshops with the objective of enhancing brain health within ethnic minority communities. One of the chosen target groups were the Jade Project’s Somali mothers. In the ETNIMU workshop sessions the participants discuss issues related to memory loss and enhancing brain health. Another objective of the workshops is to cumulate infor-mation that can help develop culturally-sensitive health services focusing on memory. The work-shops, started up in November 2015, will continue until the end of May 2016.

The challenges related to the workshops were discussing memory-related issues in a cultural-ly-sensitive and inclusive manner. There is still some work to be done in defining common concepts that address this issue. More collaboration could be utilized in organizing the workshops, to ensure that the used materials would correspond to the partic-ipants’ personal experiences. For the time being, the lack of resources has not permitted this.

THE OTHER WORKSHOPS

Separate workshops were also organized around the issues that were raised by the participants. The objective of these workshops was to provide infor-mation on the issues and topics the mothers were interested in, and to lower the threshold of taking advantage of the available services. Experts and affiliates were recruited as directors. Everything was translated into Somali language.

Overall, the workshops were a success. The biggest challenge with these workshops was their duration: two hours were sufficient only for gearing up for a conversation on the topics. On some occasions all of the mothers wanted to share their experi-ences, which then limited the available time for finding solutions for the posed problems. During the darker season (time of the year) this became more of a problem, as two prayer sessions coin-cided with the workshop. With challenging subject matters, another group discussion would have been beneficial for processing the issues and for finding solutions. The anti-racism workshop was thought to be especially important and topical. Racism was a topic that clearly would have needed more time for proper processing. It was not, however, the only workshop topic to raise intense discussion. Domestic violence, for one, was a great taboo, and a subject matter that is seldom addressed outside of the community. One workshop session was not enough for properly addressing this issue.



Arranging the workshops also required briefing the instructors - who at times had no previous experience in working with older immigrants - on functioning work methods. Rather than using tradi-tional forms of lecturing, PowerPoint presentations and the like, inclusive methods and readiness to process the issues through interactive discussion were needed, with a special emphasis on addressing the questions raised by the participants. This was a way of promoting two-way integration.

Sept. 4th, 2014. Types of dementia, directed by: Jari Jokilehto and Siiri Jaakson, The Alzheimer Association.Sept. 18th 2014. Mental health and enhancing mental wellbeing, directed by: The city of Helsinki’s psychiatric and substance abuse services consulting immigrant team.

Nov. 27th, 2014. Dental health, directed by: Sini Tienhaara, city of Helsinki.Sept. 1st, 2015. Knitting and handicrafts, the charity team for Children´s Hospital of Töölö Service Centre.Oct. 15th, 2015. Anti-racism workshop, directed by: Petri Öhman, Liikkukaa ry. Dec. 3rd, 2015. Domestic violence, directed by: Dwayne Woodroff, Lyömätön linja ry.

THE INFO DAYS & MULTICULTURAL EVENTS

Information on important issues was also conveyed through interactive info days, conducted in Somali language. Various experts working in different service sectors were invited to describe their line of work and to inform the participants about the forms



of support available. Altogether four info days were arranged and conducted in Somali language. The first one was held together with Kontula’s Somali community, and the latter three together with other actors working with older migrants: Eläkeläiset ry (The Pensioneers´ Association), Finnish Refugee Council’s Kasvokkain project, Kontula service center and Myllypuro service center. A professional translator was recruited for all the info events. Altogether 229 people participated.

The objective of the multicultural events was to increase interaction between different cultures, and to provide recreation. Among these, especially the events arranged in collaboration with Kantin pysäkki advanced two-way integration, decreased prejudices between different communities and brought meaningful experiences into the lives of older people from different backgrounds.

Along with the residents of Kantin pysäkki, the following functions were arranged: Two winter lights celebrations, an EID celebration, a women’s day event, an Independence Day reception, and a poetry class with Finnish and Somali poems. All of these events were considered a success, the participants having fond memories especially of the poetry class and of the 2015 Winter Lights celebrations. The poetry class was planned and realized by the Kantti’s and Jade’s volunteers. They invited the group members of Kantti welfare center and a group devoted to culture, Kulttuurikantti, for a Finnish lesson. At the end of the lesson, the participants who had read poems to one another, compared the differences of posture while milking a cow, as opposed to milking a camel.

Eight international exchange students from the Aalto University participated in the 2015 Winter Lights celebration, devised together with Ole Tørreson, Aalto University’s Service Design exchange student. In this cross-cultural and gener-ational event, four residents of Kantin pysäkki and

Jade’s participants organized five different work-shops for the students, personnel and Kantin pysäkki’s residents to participate in. The direc-tors of the workshops felt that the event was an empowering experience, and that they would remember the day fondly many months after. Also the student’s feedback was excellent. “The group of students really enjoyed it and have all expressed how special they found the time both in terms of a cultural experience and a learning experience... Not all institutions can boast such an innovative and fresh view on activity and wellbeing for the elderly” (Ole Tørresen, e-mail message on Feb 2nd, 2015).

In addition, exercise events were arranged, in collaboration with the affiliates. Through these activities the members of the Helsinki-based groups had a chance to get to know one another and to familiarize themselves with various service centres in the Helsinki area. Students took part also in arranging these events. For example, the event titled “Older Women’s Exercise and Self-Pampering Day”, executed by Eläkeläiset ry, Kasvokkain Project, Kontula service center and student nurses from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, had a wide range of participants, hailing from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Estonia, China, Finland, Iran, Kosovo, Pakistan, Somalia and Russia.

Another event, a multicultural exercise day organ-ized in collaboration with The Union for Senior Services ´(Valli) Vanhustyön trainee-youth project and Kinapori service centre, gathered 30 older participants from Somalia and China. The service users declared that both of these events were “excellent”, with exclamations of “more of this, please…! I could do this all day!”



THE CAMP

At the very offset of the activities, the Somali mothers had one specific desire: their very own camp. An exercise-oriented camp was held in May 2015 at the sports center in Fiskars, Kisakeskus, in collaboration with Eläkeläiset ry. Altogether 15 women participated.

Thanks to Eläkeläiset ry’s Eva Rönkkö and Fiskars sports center, we were provided with excellent premises for testing out various forms of exercise. Finally it was possible to play basketball, a game that had been on the Somali mother’s wish list. Out of newly introduced sport varieties, chi ball was their favourite. From the organizers perspec-tive the camp functioned well, since our affiliate, Eläkeläiset ry’s Eva Rönkkö was already familiar with the premises and had experience in arranging camp activities. Our Somali-speaking employee felt that the camp would have been an easier under-taking if another Somali-speaking employee had participated in it.

SERVICE GUIDANCE

”It’s really important to have a person working on the project who speaks the same language as me. I’m provided with service guidance in my own native language. Before, I used to get anx-ious when I received letters and had no idea of their content or what to do with them. Now I know I can just take them to Jade and they’ll help me out. No need to worry anymore." (A 55 year old Somali mother, Project Diary)

Service guidance in Somali language provided support and counselling to the participants. It enabled them to operate more independently, and informed them on the official decisions concerning them and of the rationale behind those deci-sions. Primarily, the service guidance was the

responsibility of project employee Hamdi Moalim. When the need arose, the project manager Hanna Rantala offered service guidance in comprehensive Finnish.


MAKING THE SERVICE USER’S VOICE HEARD THROUGH ADVOCACY WORK

4.



“The project is a platform for us for relating and expressing our needs. This is a means to forward the project."(A 57 year old Somali mother, Project Diary 2015)

Alongside with providing group activities, Jade Project’s objective was to survey the needs of older Somali women and to increase their visibility. Much emphasis was put on advocacy work, especially during the last year of project activities. .

POLITICAL ADVOCACY WORK

“When I need sugar, I wait for the person sitting next to me to hand it to me. I don’t have to ask for it.” (A 58 year old Somali mother, Project Diary 2015)

Being helpful and considerate of others is an impor-tant part of Somali culture. Traditionally, older persons have been treated with respect, and it

has been expected that they take responsibility of instructing the younger generations. Reciprocally, it’s expected that the younger people make sure that the older people’s needs are met (Lagacé et al. 2012). Politics have been traditionally consid-ered men’s domain within the community, whilst there is a silent agreement among the women to not discuss politics.

We noticed that amidst cultural interaction, the older women’s perspective had been overlooked and their needs had been put on the back-burner. Within the predominantly young Somali commu-nity, priority had been given primarily to improving the young people’s prospectives and their employ-ment situation. Although there were some references to ageing on the Somalians´ expert panel’s report (Hammar 2013), no concrete ideas for improving the condition of older persons were presented. Therefore, we encouraged the Somali mothers to speak; to express their needs, so that various services could be utilized to enhance their



wellbeing and to increase meaningfulness in their lives.

Through various channels of political advocacy, Jade’s Somali mothers began to express their needs and wishes more openly. They spoke in various contexts about the importance of Finnish language education and expressed their wish that there were more language courses available for the elderly. They also hoped for a citizenship status application process that would be more considerate towards older persons. Addressing the municipal decision makers, the mothers requested more opportunities for physical exercise in a culture-sensitive envi-ronment, singling out inexpensive water exercise courses as an example.

“Citizenship and language courses are important issues for us. It’s a sad state of affairs, if a person is unable to interact with one’s neighbours, to travel or to visit the doctor independently. One’s children might live abroad, and even if they lived here, they’d still have their own life and couldn’t always be there for us.”(Somali mother, Project Diary 2014).

In 2015 Jade’s group paid a visit to the House of Parliament as guests of the former parliamentarian Rakel Hiltunen, gave a speech to the former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and presented ques-tions concerning Finnish language education to the non-discrimination ombudsmen. In addition, a summary - focusing on the needs and wishes of older Somalis of developing Helsinki-based services- was made, based on the topics raised by the participants during the info day in March, and then presented to Helsinki Elderly Council and the Helsinki Programme for the Aged (Stadin ikäohjelma).

MEDIA VISIBILITY

“In the Finnish media, the older immigrants have been practically invisible. When the issues of immi-gration and ageing have been raised, the focus has usually been on the diversity among the personnel working in elder care services” (Torres et al. 2014).

Three of Jade’s mothers were willing to share their stories. They took part in a video produced by Eläkeläiset ry and Kansansivistysliitto, titled “Tarinoita vanhenemisesta Suomessa” (Stories About Aging in Finland, 2014) and on the Jade Project’s video “Destined for a New Homeland” (2015). They also gave an interview to the news-paper Hufvudstadsbladet (Hellman 2014). The article appeared on the daily’s front page.

Following this, the mothers who had been inter-viewed felt that now it was the other mothers’ turn to speak. As the other mothers refused to be photo-graphed, the reporters´ interest waned. Altogether, Jade was featured on 27 news and web articles.

WORKSHOPS & TRAINING

Jade Project organized a number of inclusive work-shops for care workers of older persons, students, and migrant groups. The objective of the work-shops was to sensitize the participants to diversity among older persons, to enhance culturally-sen-sitive know-how and, additionally, to cumulate relevant information in the field of services, and to map out future needs. Through these workshops, organized for care professionals for the elderly, and students, we were able to form a picture of the current state of affairs in the field, and received information of the level of knowledge concerning older immigrants. There were altogether two diver-sity training sessions for professionals organized by Jade: the social accessibility training day for


VAIKUTTAMISTOIMINNALLA ASIAKKAAN ÄÄNI KUULUVILLE



the personnel working at city of Helsinki’s health and social services, organized by OIVA-akatemia in 2015, and a strategic planning day event for the representatives of Valli’s affiliate organizations, organized by The Union for the Senior Services (Valli) in 2016.

Altogether 55 professionals participated. In addi-tion, four workshops were organized for the students from the Metropolia and Diak Universities of Applied Sciences, and one for highschoolers at Töölön yhteislyseo. Jade also collaborated with Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, serving as a work experience affiliate with Metropolia’s senior care students, familiarizing them with cultur-ally-sensitive care for older persons.

Through directing groups of younger migrants, it became apparent that the attitudes towards ageing were quite similar across generations: about half of the group members dreamed of returning to their home country, whereas the other half was certain that their families and the life situation they were in forced them to remain in Finland for good. Due to their young age, better level of education and their fluent Finnish, many of them hoped they could take part in multicultural services when they grew old. Exercise, swimming and nature activities - to name a few - were considered as beneficial activities.

Altogether three multicultural workshops with younger migrants were organized, two with Vantaa NiceHearts and one Afaes ry. 44 women partici-pated in these workshops. Based on these samples, it seems that the so-called first generation of older migrants, those who are currently reaching mature age, differ from the generations to come as some will have lived in Finland for a longer time period4.

4 Sandra Torres writes about how older immigrants are often perceived as a homogeneous group with specific needs. One should acknowledge that this term describes a quite diverse group, people who have immigrated for differ-ent reasons and at different ages. All of them have their own specific needs (Torres 2006).

It is possible that, in the future, a much greater number of older immigrants will manage their way independently using the available welfare services.

DIGNIFIED OLD AGE - A SERIES OF SEMINARS (2014 & 2015)

The objective of the Jade project´s three expert seminars was to increase the visibility of ageing immigrant in the care services for older persons. The target groups of the seminars were care professionals for the elderly, and students. In total, the seminars reached 234 participants.

The feedback on all three of the seminars was excellent. When rated, the grade given by the participants averaged approximately 4,6 (on the scale of 1 to 5).

Dignified old age in the new homeland: Mental health and wellbeing “Arvokas vanhuus uudessa kotimaassa: Mielenterveys ja hyvinvointi” (March 12th, 2014): There were 48 participants in Jade’s first seminar.

The Dignified Old Age seminar series, organized through the Diversity Network within the Active Age program, will be discussed in the next section, which focuses on diversity work.


MAKING DIVERSITY A PART OF ADVOCACY WORK

5.



In Finland, it has traditionally been thought that equal services are a way to ensure that all service users are treated equally. This view has been chal-lenged by transcultural and multicultural care work, which has brought focus on the fact that care work models based on the principle of “one size fits all” override human dignity and the service users’ various expectations.

In Finland, for example, in her writings focusing on care work ethics, Meri Kangasniemi has ques-tioned whether the “one size fits all” principle can guarantee equity for service users and be rationalized from the perspective of wellbeing (Kangasniemi 2007; Kangasniemi 2009). On the other hand, a research paper on municipal docu-ments concerning care policies for older persons conducted by Sari Heikkinen and Kirsi Lumme-Sandt, points out that the law on care services for older persons and the official quality guidelines have placed older persons as the main reference point for the services (Heikkinen & Lumme-Sandt 2014). According to the authors, this ought to place also the minority populations’ older persons in a better position as service users.

The objective of the Jade project was to increase the visibility of older Somali women within the care services for older persons. We sought to influence care workers of older persons, and students, by making them more aware of the foreign language speaking older population and by impacting their daily work and care practices. Work based on networking took a dominant role in advocacy work, especially from 2014 onwards.

WELLBEING THROUGH DIVERSITY - THE POWER OF NETWORKS

Through the nation-wide program Active Age (Eloisa ikä), Jade project found important affiliates, who helped us in advancing the project’s objectives, especially in the field of advocacy work. During Jade project’s first Active Age program event, in August 2013, the project personnel met with Seta

ry association’s Yhdenvertainen vanhuus project’s Project Manager, Salla-Maija Hakola (associa-tion promoting LGBTI rights). It became evident that these seemingly dissimilar groups, the Somali mothers and the Rainbow Seniors, shared the same concerns: they felt that they were invisible. In prac-tice, the collaboration was kicked off during the Active Age program´s startup days when a Turku-based multicultural project Muistojen Koti from the Daisy Eläkeläiset association became the third member of the diversity network. With assistance from the Active Age coordination project, organ-ized by The Finnish Association for the Welfare of Older People (Vanhustyön keskusliitto), the diver-sity network was launched, with the objective of advancing the position of the older persons from minority groups. In 2015, SamiSoster ry, an asso-ciation from Lapland advancing the wellbeing of Sami-speaking older people struggling with dementia, joined the Diversity network through their Muittóhallat project.

DIGNIFIED OLD AGE SEMINARS (NOV 6TH 2015 & NOV 4TH 2015)”In reality, the differing characteristics among people have the tendency of growing stronger, rather than waning, as years go by. During the middle age years, one’s differences gets hidden, knowingly or unknowingly, within the four walls of one’s home. As one grows old, it’s no longer possible to manage without help from oth-ers, and this is the point in which the people’s varying characteristics become visible, be it lan-guage, ethnic background, sexual orientation or even some minor cultural differences."(President Tarja Halonen, Opening Speech, Nov 4th, 2015)

The Diversity network organized two seminars, with the objective of increasing the ability of recognizing



and taking into account the diversity among older persons. The first seminar, focusing on recognizing diversity, was titled ”Dignity in Older Age: Making Diversity Visible”. Frédéric Lauscher, representing Frankfurter Verband and ENIEC, a European Network of Intercultural Elderly Care, was both our guest and our keynote speaker in this November 2014 seminar. In his speech, Lauscher gave us a concise description of how they had managed to increase the quality of services and the demand for service centers by putting the focus on diversity. These innovations had also lessened the turn-over rate of the personnel working in the service centres.

In the feedback we received, the seminar was described as good and inspiring. The seminar was also complimented for using concrete exam-ples and for collaborating with minority groups to improve the services. In addition, the Director of

the Eastern Branch of Service Areas of Helsinki, Merja Etholen-Rönnberg, wrote in her letter of thanks that she had suggested including the theme of diversity in the educational scheme within the City of Helsinki, and had added the topic to the agenda of the Helsinki Elderly Council (Nov 7th, 2014). A year later, Jade Project’s Project Manager Hanna Rantala directed a training session during Oiva akatemia’s training day event for the workers at the City of Helsinki’s Social and Health Services. The session focused on social accessibility, inclu-sion, and older Somali women. In December 2015, Jade Project joined the Helsinki Elderly Council along with older immigrants from Kontula Service Center for Christmas dinner.

The following seminar was titled “Dignified old Age: Wellbeing Through Diversity”. This seminar focused on spreading well-functioning practices and hands-on methods. The opening speech was



given by president Tarja Halonen, followed by Sari Heikkinen, a lecturer at Laurea University of Applied Sciences, who gave a summary of her research project on how the status of older immi-grants manifests in the municipal documents pertaining to older person care policies. The partic-ipants were also familiarized with well-functioning practices through various association projects and participatory forum-theatre performances. The feedback we received on the seminar was good, although problems with the sound system knocked some points off.

The presence of older people from the Sami community and the illustrative forum-theatre performances were singled out as especially positive features in the seminar. Altogether, 200 attendees were reached through the seminars. In addition, both seminars were videoed and made available on the internet.

The videos of the Dignified Older Age seminars had been viewed 771 times as of February 9th, 2016. The video materials can be accessed through Jade’s web page: http://www.jadeprojekti.fi/materiaalit-2/

DIVERSITY POLL (ACTIVE AGE 2015) & BUS CAMPAIGNIn the field of diversity work, the Active Age program became an invaluable collaborator. In October 2015, the coordination project of The Finnish Association for the Welfare of Older People published a national diversity and equity poll, #moninaisuus ja yhden-vertaisuus-gallup, in which older members of minority groups - the Roma, people with an immi-grant background, and members of sexual and gender minorities - were made a central topic of discussion. 1000 Finns were interviewed and asked whether they though that every individual was equally valuable, or whether discrimination manifested in the society, and, if minority groups have enough visibility. Based on the poll it can be

assessed that the majority of Finns support equality within the services.5

Alongside with the poll, Active Age program also realized a campaign titled #Moninaisuus (#Diversity) Bus Campaign during which newly created cartoon characters travelled on Helsinki’s public transit. The stickers attached on the seats read: “An older person, too, can be gay. Or an immi-grant. Or anything else.”

THE ELDERLY COUNCIL GUIDELINEVanhusneuvosto-opas, the Elderly Council guide-line, written by Jari Latvalahti, was published in 2015. Jade Project and Eläkeläiset ry had the chance to share their ideas on the composition of the draft. Based on the feedback, four mentions were included in the draft, focusing on acknowledging older immi-grants in the operations of the Vanhusneuvostot (the Elderly Councils) and municipalities. Two addi-tions were, however, excluded from the printed and published guideline text: an idea of including the local LGBTI organizations, Seta ry, into the network of the Elderly Council affiliates and the suggestion of paying attention to ”rainbow” older persons in the municipal operations.

ADVOCACY WORK AT KÄPYRINNE RY: MAKING DIVERSITY A PART OF SERVICE CENTRES’ DAILY LIFEKantin pysäkki has been organizing activities for older immigrants since 2008. The residents of the house and personnel are a heterogenous group

5 The results of the diversity poll are contained the summary available on the Eloisa ikä web page: http://www.eloisaika.fi/eloisa-ika/ohjelman-vaikuttamistyo/gallupit/



of people of different ages and language groups. At the beginning of 2014, however, two new resi-dents moved to Kantin pysäkki: a native speaker of Mandarin and of Somali. With Kantin pysäkki´s residents speaking four different native languages for the first time, diversity became a more visible part of daily life in the premises. To give support to Kantin pysäkki´s personnel in the undertaking, Jade project organized two sessions of theme-ori-ented training. Somali Culture & the Impact on Care Work (Sept. 4th, 2014) and Comprehensive Finnish as a Means of Support in Care Work (Dec 18th, 2014). In addition, Jade Project piloted a diversity training package, devised to shift attitudes, titled “Moninaisuudesta voimavara” (Diversity as Asset, April 4th, 2015). Through the training sessions, Jade’s operations were established as a part of the service centres’ activities and organizational culture.

Somali Culture & the Impact on Care Work (Sept. 4th, 2014): The first theme oriented training was directed by Jade’s Project Worker Hamdi Moalim. Through the introduction, focusing on Somali culture, the employees were familiarized with the practices of a communal culture, of conducting visits, religious holidays, traditions, and issues concerning professional ethics. The employees were also encouraged to ask questions on issues they might find puzzling. Some of these ques-tions were, to take a few examples, preparing food according to cultural dietary norms, and the poten-tially conflicting wishes of the service users and their relatives. Seven employees took part in the training. In their feedback, they said they felt the training had been useful: it opened new perspec-tives and gave them support in culturally-sensitive work.

Comprehensive Finnish as a Means of Support in Care Work (Dec 18th, 2014): The training in compre-hensive Finnish was given by a Jade Project and Kantin pysäkki volunteer, Marianne Seppä, a lector in Finnish and a trained Finnish language teacher.

The focus of the training was both on the spoken language and in the registering practices in care work. The objective of the training was to enhance interaction between both the service users and the personnel as well as among the multicultural personnel. Eight Kantin pysäkki employees partici-pated in the training. The personnel felt the training had been useful.

An interesting question concerning the diversity work done at Käpyrinne was whether the increased level of diversity amongst the residents had impacted the daily life at Kantin pysäkki and the care practices. Was there an observable change in the way the house was being run, or were some new issues brought to the forefront? Did the personnel have the means to ensure equity among all service users? Seeking answers for these questions, Jade Project began developing a broader undertaking, with the objective of establishing diversity thinking into the daily life at Käpyrinne.

Diversity as Asset project was realized as the final development project for the Project Manager Hanna Rantala’s diploma studies in management (JEAT). The project team consisted of Käpyrinne ry asso-ciation’s Director Päivi Tiittula, Service Director at Käpylän pysäkki Mirja Huhtala, Service Director at Kantin pysäkki Soili Mustonen, and Ruth Franco and Hanna Rantala from Jade Project.

DIVERSITY AS ASSET - EDUCATION PILOT PROJECT To get a clear picture of the level of the personnel’s diversity thinking and know-how, we conducted a two-part survey with Käpyrinne ry’s employees. The first one was realized in the form of a comput-er-based questionnaire, surveying the employees from Kantin pysäkki and Käpylän pysäkki. As a basis, we used the multicultural self-assessment test developed by Georgetown University, which we modified to suit the work community’s special characteristics and the project’s need, and which



we translated into Finnish. Altogether 18 partic-ipants took the survey (16 Finnish speakers, 1 Swedish speaker, 1 speaker of another language). Out of them, 17 were female and 1 was male. In addi-tion, we conducted four pair interviews (N=8) with the employees of Kantin pysäkki. We interviewed the Service Director and Head Nurse at Kantin pysäkki, Assistant Head Nurse, 3 Practical Nurses, 1 Home Nurse, and 1 Ward Domestic. Of the inter-viewees 7 were female, 1 was male, whereas 5 were Finnish speakers, 1 was a Swedish speaker, 2 were speakers of Dari language. The interviews with the Dari speakers were conducted with a translator.

The results of the two surveys supported one another: the participants in the electronic survey felt that the service centre’s attitude towards diver-sity was positive. However, the participants rated their own attitudes as more positive than that of the other members of the work community. 100% of the participants said their attitude towards diver-sity was positive, whereas they estimated that 72% of the rest of the work unit had a positive attitude

towards multiculturalism and that 61% had a positive attitude towards sexual and gender minorities.

We noted that the employee’s attitudes, however, did not seem to translate into care practices. For example, under 40% of the participants reported paying attention to the diversity of the milieu and materials, and that 16% mentioned that various religious holidays observed by different cultural groups were celebrated in the living unit. 30% of the participants reported that they sought information on various cultures in challenging situations.

On the other hand, over 70% of the participants reported that they had learned foreign language expressions from the service users with an immi-grant background, and over 80% told that they would seek the help of a translator when the need arose. 50% of the participants felt they needed more support in finding information on diver-sity and developing their know-how on diversity issues.

The information cumulated through the qualitative



interviews was on the same lines. The participants felt that multiculturalism had been adopted with a positive attitude and they felt it had enriched the daily life of the service centre. Despite this, espe-cially the participants who were in charge of care work reported, that they did not think that becoming more diverse had had much impact on the daily life at Kantin pysäkki; one could see concrete changes primarily in acknowledging cultural factors in the preparation of food.

Although the participants’ general attitude was positive, the general feeling was that in relation to the actual hands-on work, and to the daily life domi-nated by a tight schedule, diversity had remained primarily an abstract idea.

DIVERSITY AS ASSET - TRAINING (APRIL 29TH, 2015)Participants: 11 (Kantin pysäkki and Käpylän pysäkki) Instructors: Hanna Rantala and Ruth FrancoForum-theatre: Anni Pellikka and Viola Pekkanen

Diversity as Asset training was devised based on the information we received from the two surveys. The pilot training took place in April 2015. The three hour long training package consisted of a theory section, followed by concrete practices, testing out the accumulated information with the help of participatory theatre methods (forum-the-atre). The objective of the training was to sensitize the personnel to the issues of diversity and to help them find concrete methods through which they could more effectively meet the service users’ needs.

We focused our efforts in recognizing our own atti-tudes and increasing our self-awareness, and we encouraged the participants to ponder and reflect on how their attitudes impacted the activities and their own work. First and foremost, we sought to

develop ways and methods through which the care services reflected the needs and wishes of the service users, and to ensure that the service user was perceived primarily as a person.

The forum-theatre session, directed by the actresses Anni Pellikka and Viola Pekkanen, was scripted based on actual care work experiences at Kantin pysäkki. First the actors performed the whole text, after which it was the participants turn to ponder, whether there might have been alterna-tive ways to deal with the situations presented to them by means of drama.

DIVERSITY AS ASSET: THE RESULTS AND IMPACTOverall rating: 4,6 (On the scale of 1 to 5)The rating of the methods used by the trainers: 4,8 (On the scale of 1 to 5)The perceived usefulness of the training: 4,6 (On the scale of 1 to 5)

“The issues were introduced by using concrete examples, and thus it was easier to learn them, plus they had an emotional impact as well. The participatory methods were good: the atmos-phere was light, it was easy to participate. You must have done something right, since even the quieter ones weren’t shy to speak out and participate.”(A participant, practical nurse)

The feedback form was filled by altogether five participants. 75% of them reported being more receptive to diversity in their work units. 100% of the participants felt they had developed new work skills, and 100% wanted to find ways to use the methods of inclusion with the service users. 25% reported that they were now more open to recognizing diver-sity generally, but that they had no time to take that into account in their work. 75% were of the opinion, that a busy schedule was not an obstacle.


MONINAISUUS OSAKSI VAIKUTTAMISTOIMINTAA

“Many thanks to you, you lovely diverse people - this wake-up call was much needed!”(A participant, a home nurse)

Diversity as Asset trainings are due to continue in the JADE II undertaking.

INTERNATIONAL INNOVATION PROJECT (2015)The Metropolia University of Applied Sciences organizes annually a diversified innovation project, with participants from four educational institu-tions: Professionshøjskole Metropol (Denmark), MGH Institute of Health Professionals and Seton Hall University (USA), and Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (Helsinki, Finland). In 2016, Käpyrinne ry’s Kantin pysäkki and Miina Sillanpää Foundation were chosen as affiliates with the annual innovation project. Two groups and alto-gether ten Finnish, Danish and American students visited Kantin pysäkki. The assignment challenge given for the group members was “How to develop Kantin pysäkki into a diversity-friendly service centre?” The innovation project was administered by Jade Project, Kantin pysäkki and Yhdenvertainen vanhuus, Seta ry (association promoting LGBTI rights).

The student groups devised two development projects: a recipe book based on service users’ stories and their favourite foods, titled “The Taste of My Life” and “This is Me -board”, a plan to collect mainly visual service user information and to give support to the personnel. At the ending ceremo-nies at Metropolia, “The Taste of My Life” - devised for Kantin pysäkki - was declared the innovation project’s winner. A written summary of the inno-vation projects assignment for Kantin pysäkki are available for download from Jade’s website.

Based on its operations, Jade Project produced


THE PRODUCTS 6.


THE PRODUCTS

two types of materials: one, with the objective of supporting work with the service users, and the other focusing on the development of cultural-ly-sensitive care for elderly. We won’t discuss separately the training pilot program Diversity as Asset nor the series of seminars titled Dignified Older Age here, since those were introduced in the previous sections. Both of them, however, were produced for wider distribution.

SERVICES FOR OLDER PERSONS IN HELSINKI - A MAP OF SERVICES IN SOMALI LANGUAGEThe Somali mothers’ reluctance to use public transport, along with their unfamiliarity with the services and their poor reading skills, poses limits on their daily life. Following the initiative by Elina Rahmani, former worker at Kontula Service Centre and a member of the Helsinki Programme for Ageing, the Finnish members of ENIEC (European Network of Intercultural Elderly Care) began to brainstorm methods of more effectively transmit-ting information to the county’s foreign language speaking residents. Sari Heikkinen, a lecturer at Laurea University of Applied Sciences, told about a service map developed for a Tampere-based association Naistari, which had helped to make the services more accessible6.

Jade Project assumed the undertaking’s coordi-nation responsibilities, and began to develop an accessible, Somali language service map in collab-oration with Finnish Refugee Council´s Kasvokkain Project, Eläkeläiset ry, and Sari Heikkinen from Laurea University of Applied Sciences.

6 We would also like to thank Polli ry’s Yomo Project for the feedback, Suomen muistiasiantuntijat ry’s ETNIMU project, Ulla Pohjanmaa from Kinapori service center, Marja Säikkä from Kontulan Service Center and Taina Lehto from Myllypuro Service Center.

”Ikäihmiset palvelut Helsingissä – Adeegyada waayeelka ee Helsinki” is a foldable map which contains, both in Finnish and Somali, the services that are of importance to older people with tele-phone numbers. Special attention was paid to the needs of older people with immigrant background; it contains, among other things, information about municipal social and health services and group activities targeted at older immigrants. The map focuses on the four areas where the services for older immigrants are located: Helsinki City Centre, East Helsinki, Malmi, and Pasila.

The Somali language service map was printed on paper, and is also available for download: www.kartta.jadeprojekti.fi.

The map is a pilot project, and the objective is to spread it, with the help of our affiliates, to other cities and also to translate it into other languages.

Graphic design: Tania Hoffren, Aalto yliopistoTranslation: Hamdi MoalimThe work team: Hanna Rantala & Hamdi Moalim, Jade Project; Yuko Kametani, the Finnish Refugee Council; Eva Rönkkö, Eläkeläiset ry; Sari Heikkinen, Laurea University of Applied Sciences. .


THE PRODUCTS

KOHTALONA UUSI KOTIMAA / DESTINED FOR A NEW HOMELAND (2015)

Destined for a New Homeland is a shortfilm that deals with growing older in Finland from the perspective of older Somali mothers. The mothers discuss the challenges of daily life in Finland and their effort to remain active and maintain their wellbeing.

The production was made for educational purposes. The shortfilm includes subtitles both in Finnish and English.

Duration: 16:36 Cinematography and editing: Olli Sydänmaa, KSLPost production and graphic design: Bárbara Rebolledo Script: Hanna RantalaTranslation and narration: Hamdi MoalimEnglish translation: Michelle Kaila, Tuomas Kaila, Hamdi Moalim The video team: Eva Rönkkö (Eläkeläiset ry) and Ruth Franco


TUOTOKSET


THE PRODUCTS

MEMORIES FROM A DISTANT (HOMECOUNTRY MUISTOJA KAUKAISESTA KOTIMAASTA) - EXHIBITION

The Somali mothers expressed their desire to share stories on Somali culture. Following the group’s decision, we began to prepare an exhibition on Somalian handicrafts together. Seven Somali mothers brought relics from Somalia, objects they felt were important for them, to be photographed. They told stories about the objects, which conjured images and melodies of songs, all of which was recorded. An exhibition was assembled out of eight photographs, the stories and the objects. The venues for the exhibition were Pasila multilin-gual library (11/2014), the gallery at Kantin pysäkki (3/2015), Töölö service center (9/2015) and Kamppi service center (10/2015).

Assembling the material for the exhibition was done in a workshop directed by art therapist Eungyung Kim. The photography and design of the paintings was executed by Bárbara Rebolledo. A suitcase containing memories from Somalia (Muistojen matkalaukku), assembled by Helsinki City Museum, was also utilized in the workshops.

STUDENT THESES

The student theses produced for Jade Project dealt with developing various procedures of working with the service users. Two of the theses were written for Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, and one of them was in collaboration with Sininauhaliitto ry association’s Green Gate project. In addition, a comparative Master ’s thesis focusing on the work with service users was initiated in January 2016.

Anu Pöntinen and Mari Ylhäisi 2015: ”Supporting

Ageing Somali Women. Low threshold activities as part of promoting overall well-being in everyday life”, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. The thesis was based on a qualitative group inter-view with seven Jade participants, assessing Jade’s activities and the quality of its services. The objec-tive was to survey the needs of the customers; what were the things they were happy with, and which activities did they think needed developing.

Tanja Gråsten & Iina Hokkanen 2014: “Green Care - Nature Assisting Integration of Aging Somali Women”, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. This thesis, based on the integrative nature activ-ities organized by Green Gate and Jade projects, examines the possibilities of nature activities in enhancing the integration and wellbeing of older Somalis.

Marja Nirkko, University of Eastern Finland, Health Sciences. The comparative Master ’s thesis exam-ines the peer to peer activities of older immigrant women from the perspective of pre-emptive care work. Ten of Jade Project’s service users were inter-viewed for the study, along with the service users of the Turku-based association Daisy Eläkeläiset ry’s Muistojen koti project and native Persian-speaking customers at Kontula service center. The thesis is due to be completed during 2016.

The completed theses are available for download on Jade Project’s web page. http://www.jadeprojekti.fi/materiaalit-2/


THE PRODUCTS

OPERATING MODELS FEEDBACK POLL: ASSESSMENT METHOD FOR ILLITERATE ADULTS

Carrying out Jade Project’s service user assess-ment was a challenge. With a group of participants who were mostly illiterate, we could not use tradi-tional assessment methods. However, we wanted to give the participants the possibility of giving feedback anonymously in form of coloured cards (red/white/green), in order to ensure that the pres-ence of the project workers did not impact their answers. The feedback poll was developed into an operating model for Innokylä in Finnish. It is titled “An Assessment Method for Illiterate Adults”.

INTEGRATION THROUGH THE HELP OF NATURE ACTIVITIES

The objective of this operating model was to enhance familiarity with social customs in Finland. The activities were realized through collaboration of professionals from different fields, and they could potentially be utilized with various kinds of migrant groups. Nature activities as a form of support were discussed in more detail in section 3.

The model was developed as a group effort: Tuomo Salovuori, Minna Malin and Mila Sjöholm from Green Gate project (Sininauhaliitto ry), Jade Project’s employees Hanna Rantala and Hamdi Moalim, the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences students Iina Hokkanen and Tanja Gråsten, and the Novia University of Applied Sciences student Heidi Backman.

DIVERSITY EXERCISE

For educational purposes, Jade Project created a diversity exercise, which can be implemented either by working in pairs or as an exercise for small groups. The exercise includes a description of six older persons, all different in their own way, who have come to take part in a directed activity at a service centre. Those participating in the exer-cise are assigned to design a group activity that would be suitable for all these characters from diverse backgrounds. The exercise is suitable for student groups and care workers of older persons. The exercise is available for download on Jade’s web page both in Finnish and in English.

RESEARCH

In order to increase the target groups visibility, Jade produced research data on the target group and on the project’s activities. In addition, Jade gave 14 presentations in various seminars organ-ized by our affiliates.

Jade Project also gave two presentations at the Hyvä ikä - seminar held in Tampere in September 2014. One presentation focused on nature activities as a tool for enhancing inclusion of older women of African ethnicity, while the other focused on the role of inclusive dialogue in enhancing the mental wellbeing of immigrant women.

CONFERENCES

Jade Project also participated in two interna-tional conferences. The Project Manager Hanna Rantala and Ruth Franco, a Project Worker and a Psychologist, gave a presentation on empower-ment at a Nordic social services conference held in Helsinki, titled "Courage in Social Work, The 2nd Joint Nordic Conference" (June 10th to June 12th,


THE PRODUCTS

2015). The presentation is available for download on the conference’s web site in English.

Rantala, H. & Franco, R. (2015): "Empowerment through participation: Good practices from work with ageing Somali women in Helsinki", Courage in Social Work.

The same employees participate in an inter-national intercultural psychology conference "Honoring Traditions and Creating the Future, the 23rd Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology” (July 30th to August 3rd, 2016) held in Nagoya. The subject matter of the 90-minute presentation: Franco, R., Rantala, H. & Moalim, H. (2016). "From Survival to Wellbeing: Good Practices on Inclusion and Holistic Health with Older Somali Women in Helsinki, Finland ", IACCP2016.

THE PUBLICATIONS

Rantala, H., Franco, R. & Moalim, H. (2014). Jade-projekti: kotouttavaa hyvinvointitoimintaa ikääntyneiden afrikkalaistaustaisten naisten kanssa (Jade-project: inclusive wellbeing activi-ties with older women of African background), in Ihamäki, Katja et al. (toim.), Kotouttamisen polkuja. Metropolia. (Rantala, H., Franco, R. & Moalim, H. (2014).

An article by Rantala and Franco, focusing on the wellbeing of older Somali women was sent for submission to an international journal in February 2016. The submission is still in due process.


THE PROJECT’S IMPACT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PARTICIPANTS, THE EMPLOYEES, THE VOLUNTEERS AND OUR AFFILIATES

7.



ASSESSMENT BY PARTICIPANTS

Majority of the Somali mothers who took part in the Jade Project were illiterate. This made collecting feedback information challenging, and conse-quently it made it harder for the project workers to report on the project’s activities.

The qualitative feedback was collected in conjunc-tion with the project diary entries and the interviews conducted by the students working on their theses. We also developed a system of feedback polling, a straightforward, anonymity-based proce-dure designed for illiterate adults (section 6). In the feedback polling, conducted in December 2015, 15 Somali mothers evaluated the project as a whole. They were posed four questions. 100% (N=15) of the mothers felt the project had significantly enhanced their physical wellbeing; 87% (N=13) felt the project had significantly enhanced their mental wellbeing, and 13% (N=2) thought it had some-what enhanced it; 100% (N=15) felt their opinions had been listened to during the project; and 100% (W=15) had received a lot of peer support through the project.

According to the project employees’ diary entries, the service users had orally reported that the project had brought more meaning into their lives and had increased the amount of their social interaction.

“I live by myself, and that’s why I have been lonely. In Jade I get to meet women of my own age and speak with them in my own language.” (A 62 year old Somali mother, Project Diary)

“I participate in Jade’s activities because it’s impor-tant for me to talk with others. If I stay home, it gets more and more difficult to go out.” (A 58 year old Somali mother, Project Diary)

“The exercise is very good. And another thing: we’re in the same place together, chatting. Otherwise, there’s no time. We’ve gotten to know one another. Even though we’re from the same country, we were strangers to one another before. Now we’re friends. If we bump into one another, we greet, and that’s good.” (Somali mother, Pöntinen & Ylhäisi)

According to the thesis by Anu Pöntinen and Mari Ylhäisi, of Jade’s various activities, the service users singled out Jade’s exercise group as a group that they felt enhanced their wellbeing. Also the importance of social interaction stood out in their study. The third important factor was the possibility of seeking advice in one’s own native language (Pöntinen & Ylhäisi 2015).

According to the interviews conducted by Pöntinen and Ylhäisi, however, the service users felt that “they hadn’t been asked what it was they wanted to do”. If someone were to ask them, they would like to have more swimming courses, a handicrafts group and possibly a cooking group. One of the service users had a desire to become an entrepreneur and was hoping for support in this undertaking (Pöntinen & Ylhäisi 2015).

Nevertheless, the Somali mothers thought that Jade’s activities were interesting enough that they were ready to regularly make the trip to Töölö all the way from the other side of Helsinki. Some of them had to switch transport even thrice. The mothers also thought it a positive that they had been treated with respect and appreciation and that they had had the possibility of practising their religion.

“They respect us as if we were their mothers. When we go on excursions, we take our prayer mats along, and they are aware of this and respect our prayer sessions.” (58 year old Somali mother, Pöntinen & Ylhäisi 2015)


PROJEKTIN VAIKUTTAVUUS ASIAKKAIDEN, TYÖNTEKIJÖIDEN, VAPAAEHTOISTEN & YHTEISTYÖKUMPPANIEN NÄKÖKULMASTA


ASSESSMENT BY EMPLOYEES

The employee’s feedback was collected through the Survey Monkey program. There were altogether three employees working on the project assess-ment. In addition, the project team conducted an annual SWOT analysis, which are included in this report´s annexes.

The project employees felt that respecting the service users was the key factor in winning their confidence. One project employee writes: “Due to that, we have created an environment in which they feel safe and can confidently express their needs.” According to the project employees, taking the service users on board in the project’s planning process created positive results.

On the other hand, the project employees also singled out the feeling of mutual respect within the team, regular meetings and investing in group dynamics and mental wellbeing as factors that helped to make the project successful. One project employee writes: “We have implemented various tools (Visualized Year Plans, SWOT analysis), which have kept us on course as a team and have helped us to reach our goals.” The other was of the opinion that because of this, the project could open its door to other collaborators and affiliates and exhorted the project’s organizers to seize the opportunities.

According to the project employees, Jade Project’s outcomes and impacts can be examined from two different perspectives. Three of the project employees point out that, regarding the work with the participants, the participants had visibly been empowered and activated, and their level of knowledge had been enhanced. From the perspec-tive of advocacy work, Jade Project succeeded in strengthening the participants´s voice, while also increasing various operators’ know-how and knowl-edge on cultural sensitivity and diversity work.




According to one employee: “We were involved in broad-base collaboration with educational insti-tutions and the future professionals studying in the said institutions. Thus there was a continuum as regards to our work with the service users and the way in which we took care of them. We also collaborated with the municipal officials, giving them the chance to communicate with our target group, and thus our participants’ needs could be more effectively taken into account of when plan-ning the municipal services. In addition, we also collaborated with various third sector operatives, in helping to increase the visibility of various minority groups.”

Another project employee points out that with the broad network of affiliates - and especially through working with the Diversity network (Moninaisuus-verkosto) - it was possible to transmit information also to many new target groups. The third employee notes that the advocacy work helped to raise also the profile of Kantin pysäkki and Käpyrinne ry.

As a whole, the employees were satisfied with Jade Project’s activities, results and its impact. They were of the opinion, that within the given time frame and with the given resources, more could not have been done, since the project began at the grassroots level. “If there had been more time and resources, we would have liked to been able to give more activity-based training on diversity; to write more articles and news stories on the website; organize another camp and more expeditions, since that’s what the women would have wanted; and to focus more on mental health…”

ASSESSMENT BY VOLUNTEERS

The volunteers’ feedback was collected through the Survey Monkey program. In 2016, however, only one volunteer answered the assessment form,

and therefore we have included some evaluation answers from 2014 (N=4), and also direct verbal feedback from the volunteers (2016).

One noteworthy factor in the volunteer assess-ment was that none of them felt they thoroughly knew what were all the activities the project covered. This illustrates the fact that all volunteers had committed themselves to one specific part of the project. According to the 2014 assessment, however, all volunteers thought that everyone in the project team was doing good work. One volun-teer writes: “I think the concept is good.” As regards to development, it was generally thought that more time should have been devoted to teaching Finnish (Survey Monkey 2014).

In 2016, a volunteer assessing the entire project, felt that the project had not managed to offer a sufficient amount of support for all the volunteers. “As regards to the language courses, the content could have been more goal-oriented. That would have required following a clearly defined program… More clearly defined goals, whether in the field of studying a language (learning to communicate in Finnish) or just getting to know one another and sharing experiences.” (Let´s Read Together volun-teer, Survey Monkey 2016)

In order to support the Finnish language volunteers and to ensure the continuity of the group, Jade organized a KAMU workshop, based on activating methods, for the volunteers. (Jan 28th, 2016 to Feb 4th, 2016). The objective of the workshop was to support Finnish language teaching methods and provide new ideas on developing one’s language skills. Jouni Piekkari, a former lector at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, was chosen as the teacher. The feedback given by the volunteers was very encouraging:



“This man is the real deal. Every Finnish language teacher should go through a training like this.” (Let's Read Together volunteer 2016)

Another volunteer who e-mailed us thought that, from the perspective of employment consultation and development, the group would benefit, also in the future, from the KAMU workshops. (Let's Read Together volunteer 2016).

Among our various affiliates, it appears that the volunteers were the one group that felt that there was much to improve in the project. This likely implies that the support for the volunteers suffered due to the broad base of the project.

ASSESSMENT BY AFFILIATES

Also our affiliates assessed Jade Project through the Survey Monkey program in the beginning of 2016. Altogether 7 of our affiliates answered the survey: 5 NGO-based participants, 1 representa-tive of the city of Helsinki, and 1 representative of an educational institution. Five of the participants had a clear understanding of Jade Project’s objec-tives, whereas two of them thought they were only partially familiar with the project’s activities. The survey was done anonymously.

The affiliates assessment was that Jade Project was doing good work, complementing it for its straightforward attitude and its ability to coop-erate: “We have been planning our mutual activities through phone and e-mail. Jade employees have been considerate of our participants’ needs and, for example, and of the importance of making the schedule suitable for everybody. (Affiliate, Survey Monkey 2016). Also the project’s content was considered valuable and a success. One affiliate writes: “Jade Project’s content has been exception-ally rich. Along with its own group activities, Jade’s participation in the activities of the network of

affiliates was very active and receptive.”

Also from the perspective of productiveness and impact, the affiliates felt the activities had been a success. “Regular group activities, new forms of recreation and a strengthened feeling of commu-nalism have been some of the outcomes. The visible impacts I observed were the women’s mental devel-opment and their improved ability to adapt to life in Finland. Another impact has been the spreading of information concerning older immigrants, espe-cially those of Muslim faith, to people working in older person care. Jade’s employees have taken the initiative many collaborative undertakings.”

On the other hand, Jade Project’s impacts were considered to expand beyond Jade’s own service user base. “Through our collaboration with Jade Project, we have been able to increase the inclu-sion and knowledge of our own service users, too. Jade has organized versatile group activities, and by collaborating with them we have been able to design activities for our mutual target groups.”

With follow-up undertakings in mind, the three affiliates hoped for more interaction between older people of Finnish and Somali descent. “The target group could interact more with Finnish peer groups.”


THE CHALLENGES8.


THE CHALLENGES

FROM CHALLENGES IN THE WORK WITH PARTICIPANTS TO WELL WORKING PRACTICES

From the perspective of the project’s objectives, the greatest challenge was to find participants from different African countries. We knew from the outset that there were significantly fewer older women from other African countries living in the Greater Helsinki area: Altogether 212 women over 50 years of age, from other African countries, lived in the Uusimaa region (Southern Finland), whereas the number of older Somali women was 362 (Tilastokeskus 2014). The word was spread through African shops, the City of Helsinki’s Immigration Services and the international congrega-tions. Since the quest yielded no results, it was decided at the end of 2014 that the project’s activities would concentrate on working with older Somali women. On the other hand, the rising numbers of service users of Somali descent kept everybody busy. Having a Somali speaking employee in the team enabled working with the participants on a deeper level and made commu-nication easier between the project team and the participants, but it also posed new kinds of problems: the mothers wanted to be heard and felt that they had been made to wait too long. Communication with the aid of a translator also took extra time. As the project progressed, the participants became more and more dependent on the Somali speaking project worker; when she was absent, it was hard at times to establish connections with the mothers and give them instruc-tions, since everyone was waiting for her.

The relationship had its challenges, though; in the beginning of the project, the age difference between the group members and the project employee brought its own challenges. Since the employee was around 30 years younger than the participants, they would first treat her as a young relative girl, and it was expected that she would cater to the mothers’ needs in accord-ance to the social norms pertaining to age differences. It took a while before the mothers would think of her

as an employee and an expert, rather than a young relative.

The prevalent Somalian clan structure was another factor that brought challenges in working with our participants.7 Especially in the beginning, the mothers speculated over the employee’s clan affilia-tion and its possible impact on her attitude towards them. The discussion on the issue of clans were filled with emotions and some unprocessed matters were brought to the surface, since many felt that the enmity between different clans had caused the civil war. Some were ready and willing to contemplate on the reasons of war and to have a discussion with others. Others were not. From the perspective of group dynamics and solidifying group feeling, these discussions were chal-lenging, since we observed that - even though it was highly important to extend the dialogue to these issues – we observed that when they were brought up, the clan affiliations negatively impacted the group´s unity and caused resentment. As the project activities came to a close, the participants thanked the employees for their decision to bring this issue into discussion; they felt it had solidified the group. They thought it had been especially important since one of the employees was a Somali speaker; “The impartiality of a Somali speaking instructor was important for us. She consid-ered us all equal, regardless of our clan background. We knew that no-one was preferred over another. This kind of interaction is important, since it is essential that one can trust in and find support from the instructor.” (A 56 year old Somali mother, Project Diary)

As the project was starting up, we knew that our partic-ipants were outside of the service network, but we were not quite aware of the challenges this would pose to the group activities. The fact that the mothers were at different stages of inclusion process increased the challenges, since the group members’ needs differed from one another. This meant that we had to start with

7 Majority of Somalis belong to one of the five clans. A small minority has no clan affiliations. The clan background defines social relations, and can be taken advantage of in var-ious situations.


THE CHALLENGES

the basics. Most of the group members first needed to be instructed on how, on a general level, the services functioned and how decisions were made, well before we could start addressing the members’ individual needs. This in turn delayed the transmitting of infor-mation and frustrated some of the participants. Some also assumed that participating in the project’s activi-ties would automatically bring about concrete changes to the better in their lives. For example, Helsinki travel cards raised vivid discussions and caused a good deal of resentment during the first one and half years of the project’s activities.

Jade Project wrote a letter to a social worker, on behalf of the participants, applying for a Helsinki travel card as a form of discretionary assistance, since it was known it would have lowered the threshold for the Somali mothers to participate in the activities. Due to a shift in the political climate and economic policies, the City of Helsinki had made the terms of receiving a travel card stricter, which led to some service users getting it, and some not. The participants had a hard time accepting this, and they blamed the project employees for this problem. Some dropped out of the activities, since they considered financing the travel by themselves was too much of a financial burden. Some were disappointed with the project’s inability in solving the problem.

Much time was devoted to the issue of welfare and the decisions pertaining to it; this eased the situation. One of the participants decided to take matters in her own hands and arranged a meeting with her social worker, in which she explained why the travel card was impor-tant and how it could enable enhancing her wellbeing. She was granted an extension, which helped in forming a more positive assessment of the situation within the group. Many began to understand that the travel card was just an added benefit. Jade Project was offering them something separate from that.

ACTIVITY AND PARTICIPANTS“We would like to share our knowledge with others, especially young Somalis. We could, for example,

visit schools and relate our story of life in our native country to young people and children. In our own families we try to teach Somali to our children by using poetry, for example. The children could note the stories and poems down, so that they can be preserved for future generations.” (A Somali mother, Project Diary)

The fact that many members had lived outside the service system also brought some other difficulties to Jade’s activities. One of the most notable of these was activating the Somali mothers to become active participants in the project, after they had been denoted passive roles for many years. At the very outset they openly expressed their wishes and needs, but expected Jade Project to resolve all the questions on how to satisfy the said needs and wishes. It took a while before they came to realize that they themselves were given an opportunity to impact the project’s course and to actively participate. In concrete terms, a change was observed especially in the discussion group, as the Somali mothers began to express their opinions much more openly and share even some difficult experi-ences and concerns with others. As it was noted in the section focusing on the discussion group, the Somali mothers began to open up especially when discussing matters related to mental wellbeing.

However, we did not succeed in activating the group members to, for example, assume the responsibilities of directing a group or organizing an event. On many occasions, the Somali mothers expressed their desire to direct a handicrafts group or to arrange the catering for some of Jade’s events. As the date grew close, though, they often reneged on their offers, since no one wanted to bear the responsibility. Apparently, the base of the problem lay in the group dynamics: some of the service users actively participated in cleaning and doing the dishes. Some also brought food to the events. As a group, however, they would not function like this. The group instructors observed that none of them wanted to assume any form of leadership within the group, since doing so might have compromised the communal feeling within the group.


THE CONCLUSIONS: PROMISING PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM JADE PROJECT

9.



In the future, it would be interesting to consider various methods through which the participants´ own resources could be utilized more. They them-selves expressed their desire to have a more active role within the Somali community, for example as transmitters of cultural heritage to younger generations.

This final report is a summary of the three-year-long Jade Project, funded by RAY (Finland’s Slot Machine Association). The report focuses on Jade’s activities, results and impacts (2013-2015). The project created an operational model, based on inclusion and dialogue, for activities targeting older Somali women. Based on the feedback from our service users, the project employees, the volun-teers and our affiliates, Jade had a positive impact on the Somali mothers’ daily lives and succeeded in enhancing their wellbeing. In addition, Jade’s objective was to make the participants’ voices heard. By utilizing experiences accumulated in working with the mothers, Jade sought to advance the equality of the participants also in a broader way, through the Diversity network. The attitudes of those working in care for elderly were impacted through various trainings, workshops and semi-nars, and, for example, the personnel at Käpyrinne ry felt that their diversity skills had increased and thus also their ability to enhance the quality and dignity of the older service users. Inspired by the Diversity network, the city of Helsinki, on its part, initiated diversity training for the employees under the municipal Social and Health Services.

One of the most notable factors in making the project successful and productive was using the participants own native language in the activi-ties. Having a Somali speaking project employee on board enabled the flow of information between the project team and the service users, and it also enabled the understanding of the partici-pants’ wishes and needs on a deeper level. Even though the participants became more dependent

on one single employee, the one Somali speaker, having a common language also helped to acti-vate the members. This could be seen especially in the way the participants’ role increased in internal communication, in monitoring target groups and in developing the content of the discussion group’s session.

Another well-functioning practice, which helped to enhance the project’s productiveness and its impact, was the intense collaboration with various operatives and the network-based method of working both on the field of service user work and advocacy work. The collaboration networks increased the project’s resources, enriched and clarified the information targeted at the partic-ipants, enlarged the target group and helped to develop the project’s activities, operational methods and products. Being a part of the nation-wide Active Age program increased, on its part, the project’s impacts, enabled the networking of the employees on a national level, and offered invalu-able peer support for the project team.

The regular exchange of information, too, was a prac-tice that was considered beneficial for the project team, as was employing various goal-oriented work methods. These enabled the preservation of the common objectives, despite the large scale of the field of activities. On the other hand, the diverse project team, with professionals from different fields, brought depth into the projects activities, as the areas of responsibilities were agreed upon with clarity.

Finally, thanks to the tireless support we received from Käpyrinne ry and Kantin pysäkki, and thanks to the open-mindedness of the residents at Kantin pysäkki, it was possible to realize the project on this scale. The project received assistance from its background organization in the areas of employee wellbeing, networking and expertise. The openness of Käpyrinne ry in developing its own activities,



on its part, created the basis for Jade’s research and development activities, and the Kantin pysäkki residents’ willingness to cooperate with Jade project enriched the target group’s experiences and the project team’s capacity to plan its diver-sity activities. In addition, the project team having the possibility to participate in work tutoring, on a group and individual basis, enhanced the project team’s wellbeing and was also helpful from the perspective of the project’s logistics.

Above all, the project’s development was made possible thanks to the openness, commitment and persistence of the older Somali mothers. Their eagerness to learn new things and their willingness to share stories about their lives encouraged us in advancing the project. Thanks to their involvement, we were able to learn a great deal about ourselves and our work, and about Somali culture and Somali life. Mahad sanid!

“We are not used to this new way of life, it is diffi-cult. But we’ll adapt. Even though I was forced to flee to Finland because of the war, I have found a safe country to live in. Everything is in the hand of Allah. Our destiny leads us on. Everything is predestined. Allah has said: whatever I give you, be it good or bad, you must learn to live with it. I never would have thought I would move abroad. But such is destiny.”(Destined for a New Homeland 2015)


REFERENCES

REFERENCES

Age UK (2012). Fit as a Fiddle. Engaging faith and BME communities in activities for wellbeing. London: Age UK.

Backman, H. (2014). Luontokotouttamisopas: Green Care - aktiviteettien hyödyntäminen maahanmuut-tajien luontokotouttamisessa. https://www.theseus. fi/handle/10024/71032

Brochmann, G. & Skevik Grødem, A. (2013). Migration and Welfare Sustainability: The Case of Norway. Teoksessa Jurado, E. & Brochmann, G. toim. Europe's Immigration Challenge: Reconciling Work, Welfare and Mobility. I.B. Taurus.

Castaneda, A.E., Rask, S., Koponen, P., Mölsä, M. & Koskinen, S. (2012). Maahanmuuttajien terveys ja hyvinvointi. Tutkimus venäläis-, somalialais- ja kurditaustaisista Suomessa. Tampere: Terveyden ja Hyvinvoinnin laitos.

Crosby, D.B. (2008). Resettled Somali Women in Georgia and Changing Gender Roles, Bildhaan, 6: 68–85.

Destined for a New Homeland (2015). Video. Helsinki: Jade-projekti (Kohtalona uusi kotimaa)

Egal Shidad: Stories for Somali Health 2009. https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3JmuSf5VYM

El Solh, C.F. (1993). Be True to Your Culture: Gender Tensions among Somali Muslims in Britain, Immigrants and Minorities, 12 (1): 21–45.

Engebritsen, G. (2007). Kinship, Gender and Adaption Processes in Exile: The Case of Tamil and Somali Families in Norway, Journal of Ethnic and

Migration Studies, 33: 727–746.

Gissler, M., Malin, M., & Matveinen, P. (2006). Terveydenhuollon palvelut ja sosiaalihuollon laitos- palvelut. Helsinki: Stakes

Gråsten, T. & Hokkanen, I. (2014). Green Care - Nature Assisting Integration of Aging Somali Women, https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/ handle/10024/82290/GreenCare.Nature. Assisting.Integration.Of.Aging.Somali.Women. pdf?sequence=1.

Hammar, S. (2013). Raportti somaliasiain asian- tuntijaryhmän työskentelystä 18.4.2011–31.12.2012. TEM raportteja 21/2013.

Heikkinen, S. J. & Lumme-Sandt, K. (2014). Ikääntyvä maahanmuuttaja kuntien kotouttamisohjelmissa ja vanhuspoliittisissa ohjelmissa, Gerontologia, 28: 168–183.

Hellman, S. (2014). Äldre invandrare osynlig grupp, Hufvudstadsbladet, 2 December 2014: 10.

Helsingin kaupunki (2014a). Helsingin ulkomaalais- väestö 2014, Tilastoja 2014: 36.

Helsingin kaupunki (2014b). Maahanmuutto ja monimuotoisuus Helsingissä 2013–2016.

Helsingin kaupunki (2013). Helsingin kaupungin strategia.

Hilderborg, H. (2012). Hennattuja partoja. Helsinki: Vanhustyönkeskusliitto.

Kangasniemi, M. (2009). Miten hoidan: kaikille


REFERENCES

samaa vai jokaiselle yksilöllistä? Julkaisussa Tehy ry (toim.), Aikamoisia arvoja. Pohdintoja hoitamisen etiikasta: s: 10–14, Tehyn julkaisusarja F: 1/2009.

Kangasniemi, M. (2007). Monoliittisesta trilogiseen tasa-arvoon. Tasa-arvo hoitotyön etiikan tutkimuk- sessa.Oulu: Oulu University Press.

Kolari, T. (2015). Luonto avuksi kotoutumiseen, Innokylä uutisia.

Lagacé, M., Charmarkeh, H. & Grandena, F. (2012). Cultural perceptions of ageing: the perspective of Somali Canadians in Ottawa, Journal of Cross- Cultural Gerontology, 27: 409–424.

Mubarak, Y.M., Nilsson, E. & Saxén, N. (2015). Suomen Somalit. Helsinki: Into.

Mölsä, M. & Tiilikainen, M. (2008). Somalialaisten maahanmuuttajien ikääntymisen ja sairastamisen kokemuksia Suomessa, Sosiaalilääketieteellinen aikakauslehti, 45: 59–73.

Mölsä, M., Harsløf, K. & Tiilikainen, M. (2010). Changing Conceptions of Mental Distress Among Somalis in Finland, Transcultural Psychiatry, 47: 276–300.

Nylund, A. (toim.) (2008). Monikulttuurista hyvinvointia vanhustyöhön. Turku: Turun ammatti- korkeakoulun raportteja 69.

Pavlish, C.L, Noor, S. & Brandt, J. (2010). Somali Migrant Women and the American Health Care System: Discordant Beliefs, Divergent Expectations, and Silent Worries." Social Science & Medicine, 71: 353–361.

Pöntinen, A. & Ylhäisi, M. (2015). Supporting Ageing Somali Women - Low threshold activities as part of promoting overall well-being in everyday life. Metropolia ammattikorkeakoulu: http://urn.fi/ URN:NBN:fi:amk-2015102215640.

Ruspini, P. (2009). Elderly Migrants in Europe: an overview of trends, policies and practices. European Committee on Migration of the Council of Europe (CDMG).

Shah, A., Adelman, S. & Lock Ong, Y. (2009). Psychiatric services for Black and minority ethnic older people, College Report 2009. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Suhonen, H. (2015). ”Älä stressaa, silitä lehmää”, RAY:n inhimillisiä uutisia 19.8.2015, http://www.inhi-millisiauutisia.fi/majvik/1445334

Tilastokeskus (2014). www.stat.fi

Torres, S. (2006). Elderly Immigrants in Sweden: ‘Otherness’ Under Construction, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 32:8: 1341-1358.

Torres, S., Lindblom, J. & Nordberg, C. (2014). Daily newspaper reporting on elderly care in Sweden and Finland: a quantitative content analysis of ethnicity- and migration-related issues, Vulnerable Groups & Inclusion, 5: http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/vgi. v5.21260.

Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö 2014: Kotouttamispalvelut, https://www.tem.fi/ tyo/maahanmuuttajien_kotouttaminen/ kotouttamispalvelut

Törmä, S., Huotari, K., Tuokkola, K. & Pitkänen, S. (2014). Ikäihmisten moninaisuus näkyväksi. Selvitys vähemmistöihin kuuluvien ikääntyneiden henkilöiden kokemasta syrjinnästä sosiaali- ja terveyspalveluissa. Sisäministeriön julkaisu 14/2014, ISBN 978-952-491-964-7.

Vainio, S. & Pietarinen, K. (toim.) (2010). Ikätovereita ja ilon hetkiä. Näkökulmia ikääntyvien maahan-muuttajien ryhmätoimintaan. Helsinki: Suomen Pakolaisapu ry.


JADE PROJECT SWOT 2015

STRENGTHS

Participating in various work groups (The Helsinki Programme for Ageing, MOVA, Veto-network).

Collaborating with international affiliates through ENIEC, and well-working practices.

The support from the Kantin pysäkki Service Director.

Investing in work wellness (external professional guidance).

Motivated project personnel, with various strengths.

Jade’s status recognized in the field.

Jade has become a working life affiliate with Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

The participants have been listened to and heard.

The participants have felt encour-aged (giving them a voice).

Solutions have been found to the partic-ipants´ concrete problems.

New activities created through the Diversity Network.

Materials, work methods, work-shops and exercise.

Networking has enabled utilizing various forms of expertise in the work with participants and in constructing the methods used in the project (for example, the swimming lessons).

Support from the Active Age program.


WEAKNESSES

The scope of the activities.

The diverse needs of the target group -> delineating the needs.

The participants´ dependence on the Somali speaking employee.

Replacing the physiotherapist, and the work orientation for the new employee.

Changes in the background organization have made work continuity more difficult.

The induced passivity in the participants.

Reproducing the participants´ passivity.

The external prejudices, attitudes, and inflexibility targeted towards the participants.

The collaboration with the municipality has been limited.

Peer pressure from the Somali community.

It was not possible to bring the Somali community on board the project’s planning and continuity of the work of Jade Project.

A small, limited, and relativity new field in Finland.



OPPORTUNITIES

Members of the Käpyrinne board are interested in diversity work.

Collaboration with the Kinapori, Kontula, Myllypuro and Munkkiniemi service centers.

Utilizing and distributing Jade’s products.

Empowerment of the participants.

The increase in self-initiated exer-cising through swimming skills.

Training materials used in diversity work.

Collaboration between older persons with minority backgrounds.

The Somali community’s increased interest in working with older persons.

The Diversity Network and new operations.

The collaboration and the networks.

The political climate and the refugees.

ENIEC and international collaboration.

THREATS

The degeneration of the participants and decreased will to take initiative.

The participants’ expectations concerning the new project team.

The new project team - will there be the same level of commitment and motivation?

Not utilizing the products.

The Somali community’s attitudes on the work done with older persons.

Cultural conflicts.

Including men in the activities.

The limits in diversity collaboration due to conservative attitudes.

The political climate and the refugees.



STRENGTHS

A clearly defined target group.

The feeling of trust between the participants and the project personnel.

Discovering an effective way of communicating with the group members and the openness towards the process.

The group activities are based on the group’s needs: the group members are committed and take responsibility in enhancing their own wellbeing.

Diverse and motivated project personnel that have internalized the guiding theme.

A competent Somali-speaking project employee.

Sufficient resources for developing the activities and training the personnel.

Kantti supports the project’s operations and two-way integration.

A network that supports the project, enhances two-way integration and increases the resources: NGOs, the county’s service centers, educational institutions and volunteers.

Active Age program’s networks and peer support.

The committed volunteers have expanded the activities and have created opportunities for interaction.


WEAKNESSES

The target group was difficult to reach.

The various demands on transmitting information: transmitting information to the target group vs. the volunteers vs. the affiliates vs. the general public.

2 to 3 employees - limited amount of shared time, and many expectations.

Not having one person exclusively responsible for information.

The project was involved in many various undertakings - a challenge for employee wellbeing?

Doing advocacy work in a new field is a challenge: the target group was both invisible and a “hot potato” from a political perspective.

Quantifying wellbeing: the difficulty of defining the project’s objectives in a qualitative sense.

The differing needs and schedules of the personnel working at Kantin pysäkki: difficulties in coordination.

A good deal of time had to be invested in the Active Age project.



OPPORTUNITIES

Developing a new operational model.

Group and need based activity.

Spreading culturally-sensitive skills and developing diversity-related know-how.

Strengthening and broadening the expertise at Kantti.

The service users’ integration progresses and their wellbeing increases, and they will become more conscious of their own resources.

Giving visibility to an invisible group.

Developing research methods that are suitable for the target group (mapping out the methods that are not suitable).

Developing quantifiable methods for measuring wellbeing.

Decreasing prejudices between cultural, generational and gender-based divides.

The counselling groups broad networks and expertise.

THREATS

The inability to reach the non-Somali target group.

The scarcity of resources limits the activities: swimming, conveying information.

The follow-up project could bring everything back to square one.

The discussion on older immigrants turns negative.

Cultural conflicts.

The activities cannot be merged into a meaningful part of Kantti’s operations.

The research methods of the Active Age program are not suitable for Jade’s target group: can the benefits and challenges of the activities be mapped out?



STRENGTHS

A group of older people have already found Kantti: the group activities are popular.

Diverse, motivated and networking project personnel.

The project has resources for developing the group activities.

Kantti’s expertise on the older persons.

Kantti’s multipurpose facilities.

The diverse network of NGOs and operatives in Helsinki.

Being a part of the Active Age program: the programs networks, research and information support the project.

The counselling groups versatile expertise.


WEAKNESSES

A target group which is small and hard to reach.

The location is far away from the participants’ neighbourhood.

The various demands on transmitting information: transmitting information to the target group vs. the volunteers vs. the affiliates vs. the general public.

1 full time & 2 part-time employees - a limited amount of shared time, plus many expectations.

The project is involved in too many undertakings - a logistical problem?

A relatively new operating field - finding the right operational models?

The challenge of quantifying wellbeing.



OPPORTUNITIES

Developing new forms of collaborations, networks and operational models.

Group-based activities.

The participants’ integration and wellbeing is enhanced.

Making visible the needs of an invisible group.

Preserving and transmitting a vanishing cultural heritage and the know-how connected to it.

Decreasing prejudices between cultures, generations and the genders.

Strengthening and diversifying Kantti’s expertise.

THREATS

The target group cannot be reached.

The scarcity of resources limits the activities.

The activities cease when the project ends.

The discussion on older immigrants turns negative.

Possible prejudices between Kantti’s residents and the project’s participants.

Cultural conflicts.

The participants see the project’s activities only as a commodity: the lacking of deeper understanding on the project’s objectives.

The activities can’t be merged into a meaningful part of Kantti’s operations.

Lack of trust between the project personnel and the participants.

Inability to find committed volunteers.

inclusion, respect & somali...

Documents