Faiza had lots of questions and concerns about how to raise and educate her children, but she didn’t know many people in Canada after moving there from Pakistan with her husband in 2005. Once Faiza joined HIPPY with her oldest daughter, she received the support she was lacking and gained confidence in her own parenting skills:
HIPPY gave me a direction. I thought there was something wrong with my parenting or with my child. HIPPY was always there, taught me to relax and take everything slowly.
All three of Faiza’s children have either completed or are currently enrolled in HIPPY. She attributes her son’s excellent results in junior kindergarten to their participation in the program:
He could recognize a lot of letters. And by the time now he’s ending it, he knows his lower case, his upper case letters. And he can write a lot of letters too. All of the alphabets he can write. He knows his counting.
The HIPPY group meetings proved a chance for Faiza to leave her house and make connections with other women in her community. Looking back, she says that HIPPY gave her the exposure she needed to become a part of Canadian society:
It is important that you go out and get linked to the society, to the community that surrounds you and can help you; many, just like you are raising young families and you can also share your experiences. Go to HIPPY meetings, you’ll learn amazing stuff, you’ll get new directions.