$145,000 in Provincial Funding Helps Build Indigenous Midwifery Program Resiliency Akwesasne, ON – On Friday, local MPP Nolan Quinn met with the team at the Onkwehón:we Midwives Collective to hear more about the $145,300 Resilient Communities Fund Grant from the Government of Ontario’s Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). The funds were used to help develop the hybrid Kontiwiró:kwas Midwifery Training Program. The project is ongoing, but the program will open for a new cohort of students in Fall 2024. “Our children are the most precious things in life and the Onkwehón:we Midwives Collective is ensuring Indigenous women have the care they require. By preserving the ancestral art of midwifery, the Onkwehón:we Midwives Collective is strengthening and revitalizing Indigenous culture,” said Nolan Quinn, MPP for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry. “Our government is committed to advancing reconciliation and supporting Indigenous people and communities by helping facilitate access to Indigenous healthcare.” In addition to hybridizing the midwifery training program, strategic planning and development will allow the program to mitigate any future interruptions to the program (ie. Worldwide epidemics, mass shutdowns, etc.) The midwifery training program was in its infancy when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the program to go remote/virtual. Being a hands-on health-program, the program had to be coordinated to allow for virtual didactic learning with hands-on clinical skills. “We are incredibly grateful for the Resilient Communities Fund grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation,” said Anastasia George, Executive Director of the Onkwehón:we Midwives Collective. “This grant has allowed us to reconfigure the Midwifery Training program into something that is more accessible to not only our own community, but to other Indigenous communities. Indigenous people are resilient and its time to take us out of survival mode and into thrival mode. The Indigenous population is growing rapidly; we want to see Indigenous midwifery grow in correlation. When we grow Indigenous midwifery, we promote the health and wellness in generations of Indigenous families, we promote community health, and we secure the futures of Indigenous communities.” The Onkwehón:we Midwives Collective is committed to the perpetuation of Indigenous midwifery for the generations to come. If you wish to enquire about application to the Kontiwiró:kwas Midwifery Training Program, please visit the website at: www.onkwehonwemidwives.com “Non-profit organizations across Ontario deliver programming that makes a difference,” said Neil Lumsden, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. “That’s why funding that my ministry is providing through the OTF is so important. Our government wants to ensure that these programs and spaces remain the heart of communities across our province.” The Ontario Trillium Foundation’s (OTF) mission is to build healthy and vibrant communities across Ontario. As an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations, last year, OTF invested over $110M into 1,022 community projects and partnerships. Visit otf.ca to learn more. -30- Organization Contact for Media Inquiries: Anastasia George, Executive Director Onkwehón:we Midwives Collective 613-938-BABY (2229) exec@onkwehonwemidwives.com
