Aamjiwnaang Heroes in Health honoured for their efforts in infant and child programs

By Colin Graf

AAMJIWNAANG FIRST NATION—It took years of hard work and determination for MaLynda Maness-Henry and Joanne Culley to grow the Aamjiwnaang First Nation’s infant and child programs to the point where their service has become a wrap-around blanket of care that’s earned them the “Heroes of Health” award from the Anishinabek Nation.

Maness-Henry  started the community’s first mother and child drop-in centre 25 years ago in the band office basement, with the help of about five volunteer parents.

“I was the van driver, I brought the snack, cleaned up the snack, prepared the program, drove people home, and planned trips,” recalls Maness-Henry.

Now, working with her second generation of youngsters, she oversees an entire system of programs, including seven drop-in sessions a week, a new parents group, a breast-feeding support group, home visits, a fathers group, along with visits from outside professionals including public health nurses, and speech, occupational, and physiotherapists.

Maness-Henry and nurse Culley, who joined the team 12 years ago, were nominated by staff of the Anishinabek Nation, says Sara Plain, health director at Aamjiwnaang.

“MaLynda, as a member of Aamjiwnaang, is involved, informed and cares deeply about the well-being of our families. Joanne, as a non-community member, has demonstrated strong commitment to building relationships within the community and learning our way of life. Both have worked hard to ensure our program reflects the values of our community,” said Plain in her e-mail nominating the pair.

The community child care program, Dago Maajigoog Binoojiinyag (Little Spirits, Growing Together), took a big jump forward last Sept., thanks largely to the work of Culley and Maness-Henry, who are “always looking for ways to make our program better,” according to director Plain.

After working eight months preparing a proposal, the program won new funding and took a large leap starting last Sept., almost doubling the number of drop-in sessions, even adding a Saturday program.  One Saturday each month is for the Ultimate Fathers Caring (UFC) Group, an innovation that’s become popular. The fathers like “targeted activities,” such as drum-making, says Maness-Henry.

“If we just say it’s a drop in we don’t get as many dads,” she claims.

“They like the hands-on stuff,” adds Culley.

According to Culley, the new funding is also allowing the expansion of a weekly parenting session, allowing the staff to do bigger and better things to help parents raise their children.

The early days of the program were enhanced first with the addition of one Early Childhood Educator, and then a nurse who began wellness checks and baby weigh-ins, helping to ensure infants were growing and developing properly, Maness-Henry remembers. Their program used to take place in a small room at the Health Centre, but now they are in the gym at the community centre.

“Last night, a staff member looked around and said it’s a good thing because of our numbers,” she says.

After their big expansion last fall came the award for Maness-Henry and Culley.  The pair were attending the Anishinabek Nation health conference last Feb., remembers Culley, when they were surprised by the announcement they were “Heroes of Health” during an evening meal.  She felt “totally honoured, overwhelmed.”

Maness-Henry and Culley “are team players, not only running their own busy program, but helping wherever they are needed. MaLynda helps run our food bank and cooks for community funerals. Joanne developed and chairs our Nursing Practice Council and supervises placements for nursing students,” added Plain in her nomination email.

“Our families trust and respect them,” she continues.  “They both have a natural way of working with parents to teach and foster attachment and parenting skills. Our program is successful because of the love, passion and effort they put into it.”

Under their expanded program, the pair also coordinate home visits for new parents, and work with the Aaamjiwnaang Head Start (daycare) program to get all programming for the 0-6 year olds “under one roof,” says Maness-Henry, and according to Culley, make things less confusing for parents, as some programs were previously in different locations.

Their team now includes three ECE’s, a registered nurse, culture and language worker and driver, says Plain.

“They have enhanced the cultural component and are now developing a visiting Grandparent and Elder program,” she adds in her e-mail.

Their cultural worker is helping add more land-based activities, and is encouraging the use of Anishinaabemowin with both children and parents, says Culley.  That encouragement is done in “gentle ways,” she says.

“If you walk into our room, there’ll be a drum out, or storyboards with Ojibwe words on,” she describes. “Our culture and language person is constantly talking to the children in Ojibwe.”

There are also conversations about traditional foods.

Others can “see the great work they do with the Healthy Babies Healthy Children program and how passionate they are about the families in the community. Joanne is always in contact with me, telling me about a new program they are trying, the success of programs and how they can build on the programs. I feel that our great workers should be recognized and I would like to start with Joanne and MaLynda,” wrote Stephanie Peplinskie, Community Health Programs Coordinator with the Anishinabek Nation in nominating the two Aamjiwnaang workers.

Funding for the new programs comes from the Anishinabek Nation, Indigenous Services Canada, and “Journey Together” money from the Ontario Government.

Not resting on their laurels, Maness-Henry and Culley are planning their next steps, a program on infant mental health promotion called Nurturing the Seed, which will match young children’s ages to stages of development, and create an individualized action plan to parents of children who may be lagging.  The workers “already do ages and stages,” says MaLynda. The new initiative will be more detailed, “developing a more precise and unique program for that child and parent to work on any problems or gaps,” says Joanne.

Even though her programs for children have grown and changed greatly over the last 25 years, MaLynda Maness-Henry says some things stay the same. “We’ve come a long way, but I still always tell the parents, ‘You make the program’.”

While there has been a lot of tough work for her and her work partner Joanne, there are also rewarding moments, says MaLynda.

“Today at lunch I heard, ‘Thank you very much.  I don’t know where I’d be without this program.’  That means a lot.”