A group of talented young people from across Canada, South Africa and Namibia has been living on the Sunshine Coast and volunteering in our communities for just over two weeks now.
Canada World Youth (CWY) is here on an international exchange program focused on building a sustainable tomorrow, by working on community projects in environmental conservation and education. This initiative is designed to address environmental issues and help build a long-term ability to deal with theses issues through the experience gained by the youth, the organizations and the communities.
The participants are on the Coast for two and a half months with weekly schedules chock full of volunteer and community activities. The first three days of the week are spent in pairs or small groups, working on various community projects and in schools along the Coast. Thursday is educational activity day, consisting of group activities, workshops and exploring local and global issues. Fridays are dedicated as group day, where the entire group volunteers in the community on the same project. The weekends are host family day, free day and a day for working on individual or group learning projects. The time spent in this program is highly educational and raises environmental awareness, biodiversity, conservation and community development issues.
Since arriving on the Coast Sept. 12, the 18 participants, young men and women ranging in age from 18 to 22 years, have been active in Coastal communities from Langdale to Egmont. The group has been working on quite a large project with the renewal of White Tower Park.
"They've been building bridges," said project supervisor Terence Lowe. "They've been super busy."
Other projects include: volunteering at the food bank, organic farming in Roberts Creek, assisting in classrooms throughout the Coast and taking part in Nights Alive, an alternative safe social gathering place for Sunshine Coast youth. Some of the participants spent time with the leadership class from Chatelech. According to Lowe, the program participants were made to feel very welcome and shown around town. They also enjoyed some of the music at Pender Harbour Jazz Festival. Many of the CWY participants have not experienced the surroundings and environment we are so accustomed to.
"They feel like they are living in a forest, a nature reserve," said Lowe. "It's fabulous."
When the Canadian portion of the program comes to an end in November, the participants leave for South Africa where they will continue their initiatives and hopefully share some knowledge they have gained from their time spent on the Sunshine Coast.
