Becoming global citizens

Exchange: Residents to visit Bolivia and Ukraine.

Two Salmon Arm youths are embarking this summer on adventures that will let them explore both home and abroad.

Anna Sparks and Ben Scheidegger are part of the latest group of Canada World Youth participants who will travel to locations in Canada as well as internationally, working on various community-based volunteer activities.

The pair will spend three months working in a Canadian community with a counterpart from their international host nation, which they will spend another three months visiting.

According to the Canada World Youth website, the initiative aims to create global citizens, and sends upwards of 400 Canadians between the ages of 17 and 24 on the program each year.

Sparks, who left the University of Victoria after a year and a half this December, is leaving July 15 to work in Cochrane, Alta. After three months there she is off to the town of Camiri in Bolivia.

“I’m planning on falling in love with South America and never coming home,” she laughs as she explains that one of the reasons she left university was because she didn’t feel like she really had a long-term goal. She hopes her experience with Canada World Youth will help her develop one.

“I didn’t really know where I was going with it, so I wasn’t that motivated... I’m kind of hoping to figure that out.”

The self-titled “reading geek” learned about Canada World Youth at the age of 12 when she read a book about the experiences of a Canada World Youth participant who traveled to Malaysia. The read peaked her interest in the program.

So when a group of Canada World Youth participants and their Uruguayan counterparts came to Salmon Arm, she convinced her mother to host two of the participants.

The Uruguayans, who kissed everyone on the cheek upon entering a room, whether they knew them or not, introduced her to the South American culture that she is now excited to experience firsthand.

“(What) I’ve found with South American cultures is just the closeness, the familiarity,” says Sparks. “Here, if I go into a room full of friends... we’ll wave from the other side of the room.”

Scheidegger, who is graduating from Salmon Arm Secondary this year, also hosted Canada World Youth participants with his family, and that is what got him interested in the opportunity.

“I didn’t really have a future plan, and I wanted to travel, so I applied.”

Sheidegger, who leaves on Aug. 19, will be working in Port Alberni for the Canadian portion of his experience and travelling all the way to Ostroh in Ukraine for the international half.

“The first time I heard Ukraine, I was like, ‘Oh man I wish I was going somewhere warm,’” he says, laughing. “But looking into it, it’s going to definitely be different than some of the other places, but I think that will be interesting.”

Although he feels the language barrier is going to be the greatest difficulty, Sheidegger is excited to explore the history of the region.

“You’re just as much a global citizen as you are a Canadian, and it’s important to understand your planet as well as your own country.”

Both Scheidegger and Sparks will attend orientation camps before starting their volunteer work where they will be paired with an international youth from the country where they will be traveling. They will live with this counterpart in the home of a host family and will work with the other 14 to 16 group members, half from the international nation, and half from across Canada.

“It’s seven months with a group of people speaking three different languages, living in different cultures,” says Sparks. “It’s not going to be easy.”

And the challenges do not stop there. Although the personal cost for the program is low, just $250 for each participant, they must also fundraise $2,100 individually.

Sparks is almost there, despite only finding out in the beginning of May that she had to raise the amount by the end of June.

Scheidegger has about $1,900 raised already, including the money he collected through a successful garage sale.