Based on our interviews, the Ban Righ Centre creates its "Home Away from Home" sense of community through various aspects... 

 

1. It has a very welcoming and friendly environment. Our research participants state that they feel no pressure at the Ban Righ. They can just stop by whenever they feel like having a snack and a chat. They can also meet new people and make friends.

Hence the Ban Righ acts as a substitute for the friendships and support system that traditional students are more easily able to create within Queen's.

The counselors at the Ban Righ are also very supportive, they always do as much as they can to provide help and encouragement.

 

2. Lots of immigrant mature students attend the Ban Righ. Some of them have shared that the Ban Righ makes them feel home all the time. Therefore, it’s clear that the Ban Righ creates a community that tries to make everyone feel home, no matter where the students come from. We noticed that the place is decorated with artworks from all over the world, creating a visual impression of a nonjudgmental, inclusive and multicultural environment

 

3. The Ban Righ holds daily "rituals" (such as “Hearty soup”, a free soup for daily lunches) and occasional events such as talks from inspirational women or faculty members, to enrich mature female students’ life.

The Ban Righ also holds special events, one of them is the “Inspiring Women”, that aims to celebrate women's achievements by awarding either a Queen’s faculty member who has inspired and supported women in pursuing their goals or a mature female student who has made a positive contribution to the Kingston community. Such special events give inspire women to pursue their life goals.

In December, the Ban Righ celebrates a special night where children can buy gifts for their student moms for just 25 cents :)

 

4. The decorations and artworks create a home-like space. The Ban Righ Centre is built in a small, warm wooden house, furnished with comfortable couches and beds and warm lights. The living room is very popular and it's where informal talks and most of the social events happen. But there are also some private rooms, for example, there’s breastfeeding room for students with children, or bedrooms where to take a nap, as well as libraries with inspirational literature.

 

5. As some of the students have expressed, the spirit of the house is really the people that work there, the counselors who greet everyone with a smile and follow a "student comes first" policy. Or as one as the counselors has suggested, the house has a "strong female spirit", because of all the women that have walked through this place and supported it.

 

6. For a lot of the students, the Ban Righ offers a safe place, where they can relax, share their feelings and emotions, and feel like they have a community within Queen's

 

7. We found that most of the mature women decide to return to school to follow their passions and empower their lives

 

 

Conclusion

Overall, exploring the Ban Righ Centre through the eyes of its women was an inspiration for us.

This center is an example of what the efforts that women have done to reach an equal status in society can produce, creating a community of women helping each other achieve their dreams.

It also inspires women of every background to not give up on their aspirations, because there is help out there, and a community that can make them feel at home while they work on bettering their lives.