:: Canada World Youth - Real stories

Real stories ::

A Canadian participant learns planting techniques in Burkina Faso. Photo credit: Michael Vander Lee

Two participants carry water home in Benin. Photo credit: Stephan DuVal

A participant from Thailand picks apples in Ontario. Photo credit: Isabelle Boivin

If you’re thinking of applying to Canada World Youth, you may have read all the documentation we offer and spent some time surfing our website, and you may still be asking yourself: But what is the program really like?

The best answer to that question comes from those who have done the program. Here’s your chance to hear directly from our past participants on topics that reflect the various elements of our programs.

Core Program ››
Tricia Sharpe B.C./Sri Lanka (2000-2001) "I soon learned the gift I had to offer was my time and energy to make each child feel special (...)"	Adama Coulibaly Quebec/Mali (2001-2002) "I learned a lot about Quebec culture from my host family, especially from my host mother (...)"	Kat Koostachin Prairies/Cuba (1997-1998) "I learned life skills – how to adapt to change and to be open and non-judgmental of new situations (...)"

Other programs ››
Domenico Calla Canada-India HIV/AIDS internship (2001-2002) "I had the opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of Indian socio-political and global factors in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support (...)"	Jennifer Chong Aboriginal Youth Leadership Program (2001-2002) "For our Educational Activity Day, myself and another participant decided that we wanted to learn more about the local history of the region (...)"	Karine Bernard Québec sans Frontières, Bénin (2001-2002) "I discovered just how complicated international development is, having to reconcile everyone’s interests (...)"
Marc Abbyad NetCorps, Ecuador (2000) "Even after taking a variety of computer science courses, I realized that there are many aspects to IT that cannot be learned in a classroom (...)"	Tanys Jones NetCorps, Ecuador (2000) "Learning Spanish was an incredible challenge during this internship...Now, I appreciate the situation in which I was placed, having to fully immerse myself in a culture (...)"	Sylvia Rebelo and Cidalia Cota Academic and Community Partnerships, George Brown College-Cuba (2002) "Though our task was to provide a freshly painted residence for the seniors, our greatest pleasure came from the time we spent in conversation with them (...)"

Canada World Youth past participants can be found right across this country working and volunteering in various fields – and making a difference in their local communities. Although each participant’s experience is unique, most agree that who they are today has a lot to do with their Canada World Youth experience.

Read their stories ››