Current Projects
Social Housing for Black Women Survivors and their families
In partnership with Fourth Avenue Baptist Church, Maama Watali is undertaking a study to determine the feasibility of building a multi-unit housing unit for Black and racialized women survivors of violence. We envision this as a blended second-stage and permanent housing cooperative. In addition to housing, we will offer wrap around supports for women, in the form of employment services, counselling, and child care, as well as access to shared spaces for socializing to create a sense of community connection and support. The housing concept will be culturally specific, intergenerational, centered on needs of woman-identifying survivors, and based on the principles of universal design and green building.
The proposed site is 109A Fourth Avenue, which currently belongs to Fourth Avenue Baptist Church. The feasibility study will be conducted by CAHDCO, a non-profit real estate developer that is focussed on increasing Canada’s affordable housing. The study will be completed in December 2023.
This project is being funded by the Government of Canada’s Investment Readiness Program through Ottawa Community Foundation and the Canadian Women’s Foundation.
Maama Support Circles: Peer Support Groups for Women and Youth
Maama Support Circles is an initiative of Maama Watali aimed at developing peer-led support circles for women and youth who are survivors of violence or at risk of violence. Maama Support Circles is funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. See here Maama Support Circles for more information.
Girls Run Period: Addressing Period Poverty and all forms of gender based violence
The brain-child of Maama Watali’s founder director Susan Namulindwa, Girls Run Period is an annual marathon held in the Rift Valley of Kenya aimed at raising awareness and funds to address period poverty and other forms of violence and discrimination against girls. See here Girls Run Period for more information.