Fort Simpson (Sep 08/06) - Two students from Fort Providence had an experience over the summer that they'll never forget.

Rachel Constant and AJ Nadli travelled to Botswana, a country in southern Africa, for six weeks. The trip was part of the Northern Youth Abroad program.

While in Botswana the two youth participated in volunteer work. Constant lived in a small community called D'Kar where she helped fix and sand buildings. Her group included five other girls and two leaders.

Nadli was based eight kilometres outside of D'Kar on a small game reserve. Together with two girls, three boys and two leaders, Nadli dug trenches for pipes, put up tents, slashed a 16 kilometre trail and helped sand and paint a pool. As part of a project to give back to the community, Nadli, 19, also helped to build a front-porch swing.

There were many different things for youth from the Northwest Territories to get used to.

Although it was the winter season in southern Africa, temperatures still climbed into the high 30 C range, said Nadli. Living on the game reserve, Nadli saw animals including giraffes, wildebeests, ostriches and warthogs. A day trip to a safari gave him the chance to see elephants and lions.

Living in Africa was an eye opening experience, said Constant.

Although she didn't see the poorest part of Africa, Constant, 18, said people still lacked a lot of things that are available in Canada.

Housing is a problem in D'Kar. Some people lived in huts, others in structures made of cardboard and some slept outside around a fire. Even proper houses don't have washrooms. Constant had to adjust to life without a television or a radio.

Living in an African community made Constant look differently at things she had previously taken for granted.

She also learned that attitude can be everything.

People who had nothing but the clothes on their backs were still smiling and friendly, said Constant.

"It was a really good experience," she said.

As part of the program the youth travelled to different schools and organizations to make presentations about their life and culture in the North.

Nadli said making the presentations in front of groups up to 400 people helped him to improve his leadership and communication skills.

Both Constant and Nadli learned about the AIDS epidemic in Africa. AIDS is the biggest concern for the people there, said Constant.

The two youth also discovered that despite the many differences, some cultural aspects were the same.

After staying for a weekend on the land with an aboriginal group called the San people, Nadli noticed that both cultures eat traditional foods, tell stories and have ceremonial dances.

The dances of the San people tell stories, some of which were translated for Nadli's group.

Constant noted that people in D'Kar eat dry meat because there are no refrigerators.

Constant said having this experience has made her want to do more volunteer work and help more in her community.

She also plans to push other youth from Fort Providence to apply for the program.

Nadli enjoyed the program so much that he has plans to apply to become a facilitator with Northern Youth Abroad next year.