Northern youth explore Canada
Eight young Deh Cho representatives at Northern Youth Abroad
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, July 7, 2016
DEH CHO
In an old pioneer village on the outskirts of Ottawa, eight Deh Cho youth have spent the past week mingling with fellow students from 33 different communities across the North.
Eight Deh Cho youth are in Ottawa for the Northern Youth Abroad program. Christopher Canadien, left, joins fellow participants Elliot Betsaka, Kelsey Gargan, Adam Nadli, Chantel Cazon and Brandon Hardisty with group leader Jamie Norwegian and volunteer Shane Thompson, as well as participant Dallas Thom. - photo courtesy of Thorsten Gohl
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All part of the Northern Youth Abroad program, the youth have been working toward summer placements with the program, coming from Fort Providence, the Hay River Reserve, Nahanni Butte and Fort Simpson.
In all, 56 youth from the North are participating in Northern Youth Abroad this summer. From the Deh Cho, that includes Fort Providence's Adam Nadli, Christopher Canadien, Dallas Thom and Kelsey Gargan, Fort Simpson's Brandon Hardisty and Chantel Cazon, Elliot Betsaka from Nahanni Butte and Talia Martel from K'atl'odeeche First
Nation.
Accompanying them are Nahendeh MLA Shane Thompson, Fort Providence's Jamie Norwegian and Thorsten Gohl.
"It's going really well so far," said Thompson, speaking to the Deh Cho Drum from Ottawa on July 4 where he was attending the program's orientation.
Thompson said six of the Deh Cho youth are part of the Canadian segment of the Northern Youth Abroad program, which means after orientation they will be placed with families across Canada.
Cazon and Canadien are both part of Northern Youth Abroad's Next program, meaning they will be on-campus at Algonquin College in Ottawa for the remainder of the program.
Nick Pelletier, program officer for Northern Youth Abroad, said orientation so far has gone well, considering the large group of youth they have this year.
"The response from the youth has been great. We're pretty lucky - it's a good group this year, and it's also the most we've ever had," Pelletier said.
"We've added close to 10 new spots between the two programs, so we're finding it a little bit more crowded at camp in some places, but it's been great. The youth have really started to settle in and it's pretty fun to watch them make some friends and kind of gain a little confidence in their groups."
Some of the topics covered during orientation include talking about homesickness, workplace safety and workers' rights.
Trades talked in nation's capital
Youth taking part in Northern Youth Abroad's Next program will spend four hours each day, four days per week on-campus at Algonquin College in Ottawa, where they will learn about construction trades.
Outside of class hours, Pelletier said, they will take part in group activities, which will include cultural presentations around the city.
"We've linked up with some community groups in Ottawa - some with newcomer refugees, some with parts of the city that maybe don't have the greatest reputation. We've got the youth pairing up and they're going to do a couple different community events," Pelletier said.
"The idea behind that is just sharing of people's cultures and feeling more connected - really celebrating your culture."
With youth from Nunavut and the Northwest Territories taking part in the program, Pelletier said cultural activities could include Inuit or Dene games, as well as learning from other cultures they come into contact with.
"This will be a time to get to know some other youth from around the city, from all walks of life, and sharing and being really proud of where they come from. It's also an opportunity to teach other people about where they come from," he said.
"It's a very important part of the program."
Aside from cultural sharing, one aspect of the program is to make youth from smaller communities feel more comfortable on-campus.
"Especially if you're from a really small community, it might be pretty intimidating," said Pelletier.
"One of the benefits we found was kids felt more comfortable being on a campus and more motivated to finish high school so they can apply to college or some other kind of training."
