Seniors & Intergenerational Support

At Rahma Community and Youth Centre, we deeply value the wisdom, experiences, and cultural heritage of our elders. Our programs support seniors in staying active, connected, and empowered while also creating space for meaningful relationships between generations.

Seniors Community Engagement days

Purpose: To enhance the well-being of seniors through social connection, learning, and joyful participation.

Activities Include:

Benefits:

• Reduces loneliness
• Encourages activity
• Builds community
• Connects to health resources

Intergenerational Dialogue & Culture Sharing

Purpose: To bridge generations through mentorship, cultural traditions, and shared experiences.

Program Highlights:

Why It Matters:

• Youth gain identity and respect
• Elders feel valued and heard
• Everyone grows in empathy and connection

Preserving Traditions: Recipes & Stories Across Generations

Celebrating our seniors, protecting their well-being, and preserving the traditions that connect us.

Preserving Traditions: Recipes & Stories Across Generations is a community initiative by Rahma Community and Youth Centre that brings immigrant and refugee seniors and youth together through cultural storytelling, intergenerational cooking, and senior safety education.

Our seniors carry generations of knowledge, memories, traditions, and recipes. This program creates a space for them to share that knowledge while building connections with younger generations and gaining practical tools to navigate life safely in Canada.

At the same time, the program recognizes that many newcomer seniors can face increased risks of fraud, financial exploitation, elder abuse, and social isolation, particularly when language or digital literacy creates additional barriers.

Through this initiative, we aim to ensure that our seniors are not only protected and informed, but also seen, valued, and celebrated.

What Does the Program Include?

Senior Safety & Awareness Workshops

Participants will take part in accessible workshops focused on topics such as:

• Online safety and digital literacy
• Fraud and scam prevention
• Financial exploitation
• Recognizing and preventing elder abuse
• Understanding seniors' rights and available resources

Workshops will be delivered in accessible language, with interpretation support where needed, to ensure seniors can confidently participate and apply what they learn.

Intergenerational Cooking Sessions

Food is more than something we eat—it's a way we preserve memories, culture, and identity.

During our cooking sessions, seniors will take the lead by preparing traditional dishes and sharing the stories, memories, and cultural significance behind their recipes.

Youth participants will work alongside seniors to:

• Learn traditional recipes and cooking techniques
• Document recipes and family stories
• Build meaningful relationships with elders
• Learn about different cultural traditions
• Help preserve knowledge for future generations

These sessions create a space where seniors become teachers, storytellers, and cultural mentors.

From Our Kitchen to Future Generations

One of the major outcomes of the project will be a community cookbook featuring traditional recipes and the stories behind them.

Youth participants will help document the recipes, cooking processes, photographs, and personal stories shared by participating seniors.

The final cookbook will serve as a lasting record of our community's cultural heritage and will allow these traditions to be shared with families and future generations.

Building Connections Across Generations

This program is about more than recipes.

It is about creating opportunities for seniors and youth to learn from one another, build relationships, and recognize the value that each generation brings to our community.

Seniors have an opportunity to share knowledge that might otherwise be lost, while youth gain a deeper appreciation for their cultural heritage and the experiences of those who came before them.

Who Is This Program For?

The program primarily supports immigrant and refugee seniors, with a particular focus on seniors who may experience language barriers, social isolation, financial vulnerability, or increased risk of fraud and exploitation.

Youth participants will also play an important role throughout the program by participating in cooking sessions, documenting recipes and stories, and building meaningful intergenerational relationships.

The program will also strive to be accessible to French-speaking seniors and participants from diverse linguistic backgrounds, with interpretation and bilingual support where needed.

Our Goals

Through this initiative, Rahma aims to:

Protect — Equip seniors with practical knowledge to recognize and prevent fraud, scams, and elder abuse.

Connect — Create meaningful opportunities for seniors to build relationships with peers and younger generations.

Celebrate — Recognize seniors as valuable contributors, teachers, and cultural leaders within our community.

Preserve — Document traditional recipes, stories, and memories so they can be passed down to future generations.

The project aims to engage 50 seniors in safety education, 30 seniors and 30 youth in intergenerational cooking sessions, and preserve at least 20 recipes and accompanying stories in a community cookbook.

A Legacy That Lives On

At Rahma, we believe that supporting our community means looking after one another across generations.

By bringing seniors and youth together, Preserving Traditions creates a space where knowledge is shared, stories are remembered, friendships are formed, and traditions continue to live on.