The vision statement for Stardale is to provide life skills and literacy education, as well as advocacy, to women living in poverty and abusive situations, toward empowering their lives, their families, and their communities, thus overcoming systemic barriers. They are strengthened through a unique approach, which is a highly structured format that combines experiential learning, and arts and crafts in a therapeutic environment. We highlight some of these activities for this article. Our first program was entitled, Honouring Ourselves . Also important to the women's healing, growth and transformation is literacy.
Literacy opens doors to the world.
The knowledge gained creates access to positive alternatives for women. We addressed the challenge of food safety and proper nutrition on a shoestring budget. Illumination from Within was developed in response to requests from women for a program similar to Honouring Ourselves. It began with Life Skills, then literacy, and concluded with certification as an office worker with computer skills. Our next endeavour, Transcendence to the Future facilitated the women transforming themselves by helping them to acknowledge their pain with honesty, and a commitment to change.