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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Two young women from Fort Simpson recently returned from an exchange program they say changed their lives.

Shannon Cazon, left, of Fort Simpson and her Canada World Youth exchange counterpart Joan Ngassa bike to their volunteer work placement at the Uvikiuta compound in Tanzania. - photo courtesy of Shannon Cazon

Amber Erasmus, 19, and Shannon Cazon, 23, both participated in a Canada World Youth exchange. Erasmus spent three months in Palca, Peru, and another three months in Cochrane, Alta., while Cazon spent three months in Tanzania and three months in Peterborough, Ont.

Canada World Youth, a non-profit organization, designs international educational programs for young people aged 15 to 35. The programs are designed to help youths experience the world for themselves, learn about other cultures and diverse Canadian communities while developing leadership and communication skills.

Learned a lot

Both Erasmus and Cazon said they learned a lot about themselves through the program.

Erasmus had never travelled prior to going to Peru.

"It really opened my eyes," she said.

In Peru, Erasmus' exchange group of eight Canadians and nine Peruvians lived and volunteered in the small mountain community of Palca.

Erasmus and her exchange counterpart Yanina Moreno lived with a host family.

Not knowing Spanish or the local culture made things difficult in the beginning, said Erasmus. Moreno, who spoke English, acted as a translator between Erasmus and the host family.

"She was my best friend," Erasmus said.

Erasmus, Moreno and the rest of the exchange group spent their first 11 days in Palca making adobe bricks.

"It was very labour intensive," she said.

The group made the bricks from scratch, starting by sifting the dirt and then adding water and stomping on the mixture with boots until it was the proper consistency.

Once they had approximately 500 bricks completed, the group started constructing wood cooking stoves and fridges for local families who needed them.

People were using stoves that were not sturdy and vented smoke directly into the room, leading to burns and respiratory problems, said Erasmus. The new stoves were constructed so the two burners were raised off the ground, keeping them away from children. The stoves also included a chimney that vented outside of the house.

Each day, the group was able to build a stove or a fridge – a double-walled cupboard cooled by a bowl of cold water. They built approximately 83 of them.

"People really appreciated that," she said.

After working in the mornings, the group would spend the afternoons in educational workshops, on sight-seeing trips or planting trees for the municipality.

At the end of September, the group started the second half of the exchange in Cochrane, Alta.

Although she was coming back to Canada, Erasmus said having access to a hot shower, her own room and potable tap water, after three months going without, gave her a sense of culture shock.

In Cochrane, Erasmus volunteered at a library two days a week giving Spanish lessons, a language she is now close to fluent in, and shelving books. She also spent one day a week at a thrift store.

Erasmus said it was rewarding to see different places and do things she never thought she would do or wanted to do.

"It was probably one of the best things I've done in life," she said.

Shannon Cazon agrees the exchange was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Cazon spent her first three months, beginning in July, in Tanzania, Africa. She had a structured routine.

Ever morning Cazon would go for a run between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. before the sun rose and it became too hot.

After, she carried water from a well to her host family's house. Following chores to help to clean the house, Cazon and her exchange counterpart Joan Ngassa would bike to their work placements in Uvikiuta compound.

In the mornings, Cazon helped maintain the Chamazi Public Library and encourage donations of new books.

In the afternoon, she gave conversational English lessons to students who lived close to the compound.

Cazon said she enjoyed the relationships and friendships she developed within her exchange group and the community.

'Really amazing'

Cazon said during the program she discovered more about her own identify and her strengths and weaknesses.

"It was really amazing," she said.

Cazon spent the second half of her exchange in Peterborough, Ont., where she volunteered at Trent University helping students plan and promote events designed to integrate the international students. Cazon said as a result of the program she hopes to travel more and possibly be part of more volunteer groups.

Cazon and Erasmus, who returned to Fort Simpson on Dec. 19, plan to give presentations about their exchanges to the students at Thomas Simpson School.

Both encourage other youths to learn more about what Canada World Youth and other exchange programs have to offer.

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