Arctic Bay (May 16/05) - Accustomed to being bundled up in a parka during the winter months, Kenny Allurut spent the last six months stripped down to shorts, a T-shirt and a cap.

"Sometimes I'd miss the snow," says the 22-year-old from Arctic Bay, who returned home in early April from a six-month trip to Africa.

It all began one day when he saw a poster for Canada World Youth and decided to apply for their international program. Soon afterwards he received a phone call with an offer for his first choice: Africa.

After meeting up with five other Canadians in Toronto, he was on his way, first on a quick flight across the pond to London, England, and then on to Nairobi, Kenya.

After several days there, the six hopped on a land cruiser that drove them to the small village of Sunya in Tanzania.

"It was very hot; way too hot," he remembers. The most disorienting part of his arrival wasn't climate, but trying to understand Swahili.

While in Sunya, Allurut helped build a handball field, medical dispensary and tree nursery. The last project was a funny one to be assigned to someone who hails from a community where trees don't grow, as he explained to the people he worked with.

He spent Christmas with a family in Sunya who sang and drummed the night away. He holds fond memories of playing volleyball beneath the scorching sun.

During a visit to Kenya, Allurut saw elephants, zebra and a rhinoceros from the safety of a land cruiser.

Later, he helped build a hay storage facility at Il Ngwesi ranch in that country.

"I like to help, in my community and in other communities," he said.

When he returned to Toronto in early April, it was snowing. He knew he was almost home.

The trip was sponsored by Nunavut Youth Consulting.