The annual report summarizes the activities of Community Economic Development for Immigrant Women from 2009-2010. It describes the development of six business networks for immigrant women, including an artist alliance, cooking cluster, daycare cooperative, learning center, youth club, and writers' cooperative. It also outlines training programs, governance activities, financial reporting, media coverage, and communications efforts to support these networks. The organization achieved its goal of creating business networks for immigrant women and looks to expand its efforts and partnerships going forward.

1. Annual Report
2009-2010
Community Economic Development for Immigrant Women
905 Dillingham Rd. Unit # 20, Pickering, ON, L1W 3X1
(905)839-3636 www.ced4im-wo.org
Artist Alliance Cooking Cluster
Aashiana Daycare Co-
operative
Bidya Learning Centre
Writer’s Co-operative
Youth Talent Club

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Board Members & Staff 2009-2010
Office
905 DillinghamRd.
Unit#20
Pickering, ON
L1W 3X1
Telephone
(905)839-3636
Email
cedim@rogers.com
Website
www.ced4im-wo.org
Funded by:
OntarioTrilliumFoundation
Statusof WomenCanada
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President
Farhat Munir
52 Mansbridge cres.
Ajax,ON
L1Z 0A8
(905) 428-8665
Secretary
GazalaYasmeen
(905)686-8372
23 AbelaLane
Ajax,ON
L1T 0C1
Treasurer
FoziaHoosseinny
(905)571-0539
31 ElmeroyCres.
Whitby,ON
L1N 8A5
Ex-officio Director
Iffat Zehra
(905)426-4207
6 CarrickAve.
Ajax,ON
L1T 2P5
Directors
Nuzhath Khan
(905)426-6365
25 BisslandDr.
Ajax,ON
L1Z 0C9
SidraSaeeda
(905)239-3328
30 AbelaLane
Ajax,ON
L1T 0C1
TazeenKidwai
(905)686-7238
461 DelaneyDr.
Ajax,ON
L1T 3Y5
Shalini Sanyal
(905)492-2097
818 NarochBlvd.
Pickering,ON
L1W 1S9
GulsanurHaque
(905)619-0006
7 FeintDrive.
Ajax,ON
L1T 0E3
RubeenChauhan
(905)839-8527
1122 Maple Gate Rd.
Pickering,ON
L1X 1B8
Staff
Iffat Zehra
Executive Director
AneesahLuqman
Communications&Outreach
Assistant
ShamsaKhalid
Chef
DarleneBono
Bookkeeper

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President’s Message
Gradually,andstep- by-stepourorganizationismovingtowardsourultimate goal,the service providedtoSouth
Asiannewcomersbythe SouthAsiancommunityitself. Thisisabouttakingresponsibilityandbecomingapart of
Canada,not onlyas a beneficiaryof the systembutasa contributorof the systemas well. Participatinginthe
democraticfabricof the societyisa greatexperience. Iinvite all immigrantwomenlivinginDurhamtocome
forwardand see the beautyof thissystemfirsthand. You can nurture yourself aswell ashelpnewcomersin
manyways.
Farhat Munir
President
Executive Summary
It was an excitingyearwhere we achieved ourlongtermgoal to create networksof immigrantwomenaround
differentbusinessideas. We were helpedbyOntarioTrilliumFoundationandStatusof WomenCanadain
reachingour objectives. Alongthe waywe learnedsome lessons,andface some challenges. Our effortsof
creatinga communityfarmdidnot go toofar, because the communitydidnotsee anyeconomic benefitoutof it.
We triedbutwe failed. Ourfood-basedsocialenterpriseismovingwell asfaras skill developmentisconcernbut
profitwise,we didnotdo so well,though, we are successful inhelping ourclientstoopen abig restaurant
“SamosaEmpire”in Pickering. Our real successcame whenwe startedbuildingnetworksaroundbusinessideas.
We wantto developtwomore networks,one forfinancial servicesandsecondforcare givers. We will report
back nextyearaboutthe update of current networksanddevelopmentof new networks.
We have createdsome newpartnershipsalongthe way. We are now an affiliatedmemberof Townof Ajax. We
have creatednewtieswithOntarioCo-operative Association,andwe became amemberof anadvisory
committee of ImmigrantSettlementInitiative throughSocial Enterprise(ISISE) pilotprojectlaunchedby
CitizenshipandImmigrationCanada(CIC). We andKarachi UniversityAlumni becamepartnersindevelopingthe
Writer’sco-operative. Withone full time employeeandthree parttime employeeswe thinkthatwe have
achievedenoughandstretchedtoomuchoncurrenthuman resource. We defiantlyneedmore humanresource
to furtherour objectivesinfuture forwhichwe are lookingactively. Ourproposal toCIC isan example forthat.
IffatZehra
Executive Director
Development of Six Networks
CommunityEconomicDevelopmentforImmigrantWomendevelopedsix networkswithinthisyear.These
networksare; The ArtistAlliance,CookingCluster,AashianaDayCare Co-operative,BidyaLearningCentre,Youth
TalentClubandthe Writer’sCo-operative.Overthe course of the year,CED for ImmigrantWomenhas
participatedinseveral events,conferences,foodsellingstalls,trips,shows,exhibitionsandworkshopsforthese
networks.

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Artist Alliance
ArtistAlliance consistof 25clientswhowantto promote theirart and make a livingoutof it. On February21st
,
2010, CED for ImmigrantWomenhelditsveryfirstArtistAlliance MeetandGreetmeetingatthe McLean
Community Centre,andwasfollowedbyanexhibitionof theirartinAjax TownHall duringthe SouthAsian
Heritage Monthin May 2010. Participantswere givenfew minutestospeakaboutthemselves,theirartwork,
theirexperienceswithsellingtheirartworkasa business,andlastly,the issuesthattheyare facinginsellingtheir
art. Inthe future we wantto have exclusive artsellingworkshopsforthisgroup.
Cooking Cluster
For the CookingCluster,CEDforImmigrantWomenparticipatedinseveral eventsincludingthe CanadaDay
CelebrationsatRotaryPark on July1st
2009, Durham VegetarianFestivalonAugust9th2009, UnitedWay Annual
Fundraiser:BonAppétitonSeptember13th
2009, PumpkinFestivalonOctober17th
2009, CookingResearchon
November17th
2009, Potluck“Taste of Asia”on December14th
2009, WinterfestonFebruary7th
,2010, andfinally
the Ajax Festival of the ArtsonMay 30th
2010. These opportunitiesservedasagreat learningexperience forthe
clientsandvolunteerswholearnedcashhandlingskills,customerservicestrategies,fooddisplays,supplyline,
and healthandsafetyprocedures. Twoof ourclientsstarteda restaurant“SamosaEmpire”inPickering.
DaycareCo-operative
These are 20 clientswhowere interestedinhome-basedbabysittingservices. We encouragedthemtoforma
day care co-operative. Severalbrainstormingsessionswere heldduringthisorganizational yearwhichresultedin
the incorporationof AashianaDaycare Co-operative.Inthese sessions,clientssharedtheiropinionsaboutlow
wagesof daycare workers. The mainpointsof the discussionwere by-laws,boardmembers,screeningand
mapping,healthandsafety,aswell asdaycare relevanttrainingsandregulations. The membershadtheirfirst
tripto the OntarioCo-operative AssociationinGuelphonSeptember28th
,2009 and a trip to FSCOon October7th
,
2009. Thisgroup has beenconnectedtothe rightstakeholdersinco-opsectorandprogressingwell inthe right
direction. The co-operative’smembershipwill grow once thiscore groupstarts operations.
Bidya Learning Centre
Thisis a 12 memberstronggroupwho wantto earn a livingthroughteaching. Theirconceptof teachingincludes
academicsas well asart, language andculture. Theyare interestedinmakinga for-profitco-operative. Several
brainstormingsessionswereheldforthisgroup. Theyalsowentona trip to Ontarioco-operativeassociationand
a trip to Ottawato researchanotherteachers’co-operative there. We hadarrangedan openhouse forthis group
at McLean communityCentre onMay2010.
YouthTalent Club
In continuityof ourYouthclub lastyear,we conducteda Youth Talentshow onMarch 28, 2010. Around40
certificateswere distributedtothe youthwhotookpart inthe talentshow. This clubis now 87 membersstrong,
but we do nothave any extrahumanresource to builduponthissuccess. We were assistedbyavolunteercoach
instartinga cricketclubfor youth,whichwe will follow intonextyear.
Writer’s Co-operative
The Writer’sCo-operative isanothernetworkaddedthisyear. A groupof womenwhowere interestedinmedia
and communicationslike TV,Radioandnewspaperwere approachingusforstartinga small business. Building

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uponthese clientsskillsandstartingapartnership withUniversityof Karachi GraduatesForumCanada,we are
nowdevelopingawriters’co-operative. We heldaLiteraryEventon April 25th
, 2010 at the McLean Community
Centre. We want to give writersthe abilitytoearna livingbyresearchingandwriting aboutexistingissuesinthe
GreaterToronto Area.
Curriculum
We are very happy to announce that we now have a curriculum to follow for our training programs.
Mary Ferguson was kind enough to lend us her training curriculums to follow, but she could not tailor
those according to our needs within the budget. So we asked our training consultant, Linda Ruddy, to
look at all these manuals, and combined with her experience with our clients, produce a Curriculum for
our organization. She took that job and created a wonderful CED curriculum within the budget. We are
happy to report that in our Citizenship and Immigration Canada proposal we attached a summary of
that CED Curriculum which we would follow in case we are awarded the funding for South Asian
newcomer women.
Training Sessions
CED for Immigrant Women started a series of four workshops every month, starting from the month of
April 2010, for Strategic Planning and Professional Development of clients through the “Prepare for
Tomorrow Strategic Planning and Leadership Development Program” facilitated by Linda Ruddy from
LMR Consulting. Clients learned about Goal Setting, Action Plans, Marketing Mix Analysis, Marketing
Plan Development, Sales and Budgeting Strategies, the development of Procedures, Processes and
Business Standards, Customer Service and Retention, Leadership and Human Resources, and lastly, DiSC
Personality Assessments.
Governance
On December 2009, 8 board members from CED for Immigrant Women participated in a board
development workshop conducted by Howard Smith from United Way, who is our mentor in many
respects. The board members learned about their roles and responsibilities, and their rights and duties.
As our membership list is increasing in size we are having trouble updating it every year with new
address, phone numbers and e-mails. Howard smith is mentoring us to deal with this situation based on
his extensive experience with non-profits organizations.
Finance
We are verysatisfiedthatthisyearwe have hiredanauditfirmto do our year-endfinancialstatement. HSMhas
extensive experience inworkingfornon-profitorganizationandhasa longlistof references. Attachedisour
financial statement.
Volunteers
CED hostedmanyeventsthroughoutthe yearof 2009-2010 and appreciatesthe helpfromall of the volunteers
involved. Withover75 volunteersof all ages,808 hours of volunteerworkwascontributedforthese different

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events. The eventswere quiteasuccessandwe will continue withhopesof anincreasingnumberof youth
participantsinthe future yearstocome.
Media
CommunityEconomicDevelopmentforImmigrantWomen hasparticipatedinpromotingthe organizationin
several mediaoutletsincludingseveralnewspapers,televisionandthe internetoverthe pastyear. Duringour
SouthAsianHeritage MonthdisplaysinMay,our displayswere shownonRogers’Eye onDurham,alongwithan
interview withourclientswhowere present. The eventwasalsorecognizedinthe Julyeditionof Snap!Ajax. In
addition,the Ajax andPickeringNewsAdvertiserran a storyabout ourorganizationwhichappearedonthe front
page in July. PakistanTimes,anUrdulanguage newspaper,alsoranasegmentwhichwascalled‘DurhamRound-
Up’ inwhichinformationaboutourprogramswas publishedaswell asupcomingmunicipal eventsinDurham
Region. Thirdly,twoadswere publishedinUrduTimes,again,anotherUrdulanguage newspaperaboutour
Daycare Cooperative BrainstormingSession. Lastly,the Ajax-PickeringBoardof Trade hadcoverage of our
organizationasa newmemberontheirwebsite fromtheirNetworkingEventthattookplace onJuly14, 2009
where ourExecutive Director,IffatZehraspoke aboutCEDforImmigrantWomen. Inaddition,CEDfor Immigrant
WomenparticipatedinatelevisedsegmentwithRogersTV Durhamon March 9th
, 2010. Farhat Munirand
Ghazala Yasmeenservedasguestsforthe half hourRogersOne show where theyspoke aboutthe aimsandgoals
of ourorganization. Theyalsospoke abouttheirexperiencesasimmigrantscomingtoCanadaintermsof their
social interactionswithpeople,employment,aswell asbarriersthey’ve facedwhile integratingintoCanadian
society.
Communications
We have changed our semi-annual newsletters to quarterly newsletter. These newsletters highlight all
of our activities throughout the 3-month period. Our website is now continuously updated, and this is a
great way for our viewers to go on and take a look at all our latest updates. Viewers have an option of
choosing English or Urdu language from our website. CED would like to acknowledge Nuzhath Khan, a
board member, who worked very hard in trying to issue a newspaper for the organization but
unfortunately due to lack of resources we were not able to produce a newspaper this year.