Dear second and third years,

 As you may or may not know, Jon (C) Lau and I are co-ordinating a new project with the Global Health Working Group called the Community Initiatives Project.  This is intended to help familiarize medical students with community based health services in an interactive way, and also to get us out into the community and increase awareness about community issues.  Although the project is still in the development phase, we have scheduled one event for this semester...a visit to the Katorokwi Native Friendship Centre. The Centre provides a number of services to Aboriginal people in  Kingston, including home visits, education sessions for new and expectant parents, and literacy programs.  We are going to be visiting on Thursday, October 30 at 3PM, and the staff will be talking to us about the services they provide, the kinds of clients who use their services, the cultural basis for their programming, and Aboriginal approaches to health in general.