Building leaders through volunteerism

Building leaders through volunteerism

CANADA WORLD YOUTH
KAI NESTMAN/CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Published, COAST REPORTER: Wednesday, October 22, 2011
http://www.coastreporter.net

Kai Nestman, originally from Sechelt, participated in Canada World Youth’s 2009/10
Youth Leaders in Action program in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec and Allada, Benin.

For 40 years Canada World Youth (CWY) has enabled 34,000 youth aged 15 to 29 to participate in international co-operation programs hosted by 11,000 families in more than 67 countries.

This week (Oct. 17 to 23), the work of these volunteers and the significant impact these experiences have had on thousands of youth around the world will be celebrated. Forty special events will be held in 40 different cities, and more than 130 municipalities have officially proclaimed Canada World Youth Week, including Sechelt.

CWY offers young people the opportunity to learn new languages, embrace diversity, and improve awareness and appreciation for other cultures. CWY participants cultivate skills to become involved in community-based projects related to the environment, health and equity. For many of the youth volunteers, the experience is life-changing. CWY shapes who they are and who they will become.

As an organization, CWY contributes to the implementation of the UN Millennium Development Goals and trains new generations of youth to become active global citizens. CWY participants volunteer more than one million hours every year by building youth leadership in Canada and around the world.

Enriching the lives of young Canadians has never been more important. This past September, Canada’s youth unemployment rate stood at 14 per cent. This means that more than 400,000 Canadians aged 15 to 24 were still looking to enter the job-market. CWY offers youth a bridge to other countries when other avenues are closed to them. At its best, CWY offers youth the chance to apply their skills and passion in a meaningful experience, at home and overseas. Youth are empowered through these experiences.

The Sunshine Coast has embraced CWY over the years through hosting local groups such as the current Canada-South Africa team, as well as supporting local participants.

Beyond the national events of the 40th anniversary, CWY is committed to broadening its approach to youth leadership. Programs must be accessible. As the value of volunteerism and community engagement grows, CWY will reach out to young people from First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, as well as youth from rural areas, with a goal to engage youth from every socio-economic group, even those not accustomed to turning their sights overseas.

Canada has some two million citizens living abroad. Many do fabulous work as volunteers. Organizations like CWY focus on young people from all parts of Canada, giving them a platform and opportunity to volunteer abroad. They represent the leading edge of this country’s soft power and a huge advantage for Canadian business and Canadian citizens.

Editor’s note: Kai Nestman, originally from Sechelt, participated in Canada World Youth’s 2009/10 Youth Leaders in Action program in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec and in Allada, Benin. He is also a member of the CWY board of directors.

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Youth volunteerism builds leaders

Youth volunteerism builds leaders
Organization turns 40 with celebrations across the nation
by Kai Nestman
Published, The Powell River Peak: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 9:54 AM PDT
http://www.prpeak.com/articles/2011/10/19/community/doc4e9e0cb6d0b61295790009.txt

HELP ON THE GROUND: Pablo McDonald [left] and Kai Nestman of Canada World Youth 

volunteer with a local Pineapple Cooperative in Allada, Bénin. Kai Nestman Photo

For 40 years, Canada World Youth (CWY) has enabled 34,000 youth aged 15 to 29 to participate in international cooperation programs hosted by 11,000 families in over 67 countries. From October 17 to 23, the work of these volunteers and the significant impact that these experiences have had on thousands of youth around the world will be celebrated. Forty special events will be held in 40 different cities, and over 130 municipalities have officially proclaimed Canada World Youth Week.

CWY offers young people the opportunity to learn new languages, embrace diversity and improve awareness and appreciation for other cultures. CWY participants cultivate skills to become involved in community-based projects related to the environment, health and equity. For many of our youth volunteers, the experience is life-changing. CWY shapes who they are and who they will become.

As an organization, CWY contributes to the implementation of the UN Millennium Development Goals and trains new generations of youth to become active global citizens. CWY participants volunteer more than one million hours every year by building youth leadership in Canada and around the world.

Enriching the lives of young Canadians has never been more important. This past September, Canada’s youth unemployment rate stood at 14 per cent. This means that more than 400,000 Canadians aged 15 to 24 were still looking to enter the job market. CWY offers youth a bridge to other countries when other avenues are closed to them. At its best, CWY offers youth the chance to apply their skills and passion in a meaningful experience, at home and overseas. Youth are empowered through these experiences.

Powell River has been an outstanding host community for CWY and will again host a Canada-Vietnam group this coming December.

Today, as it moves beyond the national events of the 40th anniversary, CWY is committed to broadening its approach to youth leadership. Programs must be accessible. As the value of volunteerism and community engagement grows, the organization must reach out to young people from first nations, Inuit and Métis communities, as well as youth from rural areas. It wants to engage youth from every socio-economic group, even those not accustomed to turning their sights overseas.

Canada has some two million citizens living abroad. Many do fabulous work as volunteers. Organizations like CWY focus on young people from all parts of Canada, giving them a platform and opportunity to volunteer abroad. They represent the leading edge of this country’s soft power and a huge advantage for Canadian business and Canadians at large.

Kai Nestman, originally from Sechelt, participated in Canada World Youth’s 2009-2010 Youth Leaders in Action program in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec and Allada, Benin. He is also a member of the Canada World Youth board of directors.

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Future politician reports on African experience

CANADA WORLD YOUTH

Future politician reports on African experience

CATHIE ROY
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
COAST REPORTER
http://www.coastreporter.net

CATHIE ROY PHOTO--Kai Nestman, CWY alumni, gave a presentation to the Sunshine Coast Rotary Club on March 4; here Rotary president Darcy Long thanks him. His colourful shirt is indicative of Béninois clothing.


What do you do if you want to become fully fluent in French? If you’re Kai Nestman, you find a way to fully immerse yourself in the language and help humanity at the same time.

Nestman, a young Sunshine Coast man, recently returned from the African country of Bénin where he was part of an exchange sponsored by Canada World Youth (CWY).

On March 4, he updated the Rotary Club of the Sunshine Coast on his adventures with CWY. Along with many other groups on the Sunshine Coast, the Rotary Club had contributed to Nestman’s participation in the youth program.

CWY is based on a six month program. For the first three months, the Canadian youth and their counterparts from various foreign countries spend their time in Canada. The following three months are spent in their partners’ homelands. The emphasis of the program is volunteer work and community building.

Prior to going to the impoverished African country on the Atlantic Coast, Nestman spent three months in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec. The city of roughly 40,000 is situated on an island in the Saint Lawrence River.

While in Quebec, Nestman and Timothée, his Béninois counterpart, spent time with the rest of their group working on environmental projects, the primary one being a community idle-free plan, where signage and education were aimed at average citizens to convince them to cut down on idling their vehicles. Provincial and federal funding helped the CWY group achieve their objectives.

While in Quebec, Nestman and Timothée stayed with a family of five — three children and two adults. All day-today living was conducted in French, an excellent learning opportunity for Nestman, who hopes to be a federal politician one day. He was also fortunate to be able to go to Ottawa with the CWY group. And while he has taken two years of political science at the Ottawa University, so this wasn’t a first visit for Nestman, he was proud to show off our Parliament to his African mates.

Bénin was an eye opener for the Canadian youth. The county of about nine million people is ranked 187th in the world in terms of quality of life. The average life expectancy is 59, and only 48 per cent of men over the age of 15 can read and write. The statistic for women is even more dismal — only 23 per cent are literate.

The official language is French. Religions practiced include Islam, Christianity, Voodoo and various tribal beliefs. Growing pineapples is a prime industry in the poor country. The average wage is $2 per day and in the pineapple juice-manufacturing sector, it’s nothing for women to work a mind-numbing 12 hours a day, six days a week putting labels on bottles. As a community job, this didn’t sit well with the Canadian contingent of the CWY.

Culture differences in Canada and Bénin were most pronounced in regard to women, according to Nestman.

He told of the treatment of the grandmother of his host family in Bénin. The woman, a counsellor of some repute, was regularly approached by men in the town for answers to their problems. Yet, Nestman said the men would not look the woman in the eyes.

“It was as if they were ashamed to talk to a woman for advice,” he explained.

While in Bénin, Nestman saw several instances of Rotary help.

One project was a large ferryboat that took children to school every day. One hope there is for the Béninois is to change their pineapple farming from the present chemical-dependent style to organic, a concept that would require a complete 18-month growing season with no product to market — a tough sell in a desperately poor country.

Over the past six years, Nestman has travelled extensively on both humanitarian and personal development. A Rotary exchange student with the Sechelt Rotary Club in 2004, Nestman spent almost a year in Thailand, a country he said bore similarities to Bénin in the farming style. He has also spent a year in France as an au pair learning French.

Right now he’s looking to become a project leader in the Katimavik program. Similar to CWY in scope but national rather than international, Katimavik concentrates on dispersing Canadian youth to areas in Canada to help with social programs. And currently he plans to return to university in the fall.

Should his future plans in government materialize, it’s safe to say Nestman’s constituents will be in well-rounded hands. Read More!

Second phase of exchange begins

KAI NESTMAN/SPECIAL TO COAST REPORTER

One month into the second phase of my Canada World Youth (CWY) exchange takes me to Allada, Bénin, located one hour north of Cotonou, the economic capital of the country.

Bénin, located on the West Coast of Africa, has a population of more than nine million people and is often referred to as one of the more stable democracies on the continent. Through the influence and affects of French colonization, Bénin’s official language is French, although there are various local dialects such as Fon, which is spoken in the southern region of the country.

After a four-day orientation session where we toured Cotonou and settled into a new culture and environment, we arrived in Allada and visited each volunteer project before greeting our new host families.

Our family is well respected within the community as its original ties to the kingdom of Abomey, the largest royal kingdom in Bénin, lends itself to the their pride and traditional role as the official fabricator of all cast metals. Royal rings, bracelets, necklaces, figures and even the money of the royal kingdom were cast out of precious metals and made exclusively by the family. Although this function is no longer carried out directly by my immediate host family, the original link through an ancient king’s brother tells a history of handed down customs and legends.

Once during a time of war within the territory, the king wanted to make sure his children were protected from the injustices of fighting. He sent an order to distinguish his children by marking two scars on each side of the forehead beside their eyes. These ancestral markings have been carried on for generations, but this tradition seems to be declining as the grandparents begin to deny the ceremony given the growth of the family.

Along with the knowledge passed down by my host grandmother, there have been many interesting first impressions during the initial month.

The local market comes to Allada every fifth day as it rotates each surrounding community, bringing commerce from around the region. With the market comes an influx of people buying the freshly displayed foods and local produce, tables of bright coloured fabrics and homemade carts full of a variety of products. The flurry of activity and movement of goods around Allada flies by as sacks of rice piled on a motorcycle, a basket of peanuts perched on a woman’s head or a car jammed to the roof full of oranges. The fruit is endless and the dust is everywhere.

With just two months left we are already planning our midway project evaluation where we’ll travel north for a four-day retreat. As the Béninois phase began with a new sense of energy for the program, our involvement within the community through our volunteer projects will continue to grow over the coming weeks as we discover a new culture and country.

Remember you can follow my exchange and CWY experience as my adventures continue in Allada, Bénin at http://www.nestman.ca/.



© 2009 blog.KaiNestman.ca Read More!

The Beginnings in Bénin

A fon an! Bonjour depuis le Bénin!

It’s been a while since I last sent out an email update! I know that I owe quite a few replies so hopefully this email counts towards some as our internet here in Allada, Bénin isn’t very dependable. And…if you’ve recently sent me an email don’t worry as I’ll get to it soon!

Leaving our Canadian host community of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Québec, was a sure sign that we had past the half way point of our exchange. It was the compilation of our Canadian program where we had been hosted by a welcoming community and host families that truly embraced the program.

We left for Montreal during the early morning of October 30 where we had a final orientation on health with another group that was hosted in Terrebonne, Québec and headed to Dassa, Bénin. Before making sure everyone was good to go with the baggage restrictions we left for the airport to start our wait and travel with a changeover in Paris. It couldn’t have been an easy trip through the Air France ticket counter as there were four of us in the group who didn’t exactly have assured tickets for the remaining trip from Paris to Cotonou, Bénin. It ended up that there was just a ticket issuing error and in the end we caught the same plane as the group, but that never stopped us from hoping for a free night in Paris!

We arrived in Bénin during the night of Halloween and headed for what would be our compound for the next few days as we attended an orientation retreat. We had a session on the environment and its relation to our program, explored the city, the beach, and just had some time to adjust to the new time zone, heat, environment and culture.

Some first impressions of Bénin include the endless amount of street vendors and little shops set up along the path of the road that sometimes sell the largest variety of items. The ‘zims’ or motortaxis are everywhere. Imagine 40 Canada World Youth participants all following each other as a pack weaving throughout Cotonou. Actually there are quite a few comparisons to my Rotary Youth Exchange year in Thailand.

Our arrival in our new host community of Allada on Tuesday November 3 was met with a grand welcome from all the new host families and an introduction to the community. We quickly toured each volunteer project to understand the organizations and their objectives so that everyone could choose their project for the next three months.

The volunteer project that I chose didn’t turn out to be the best project to learn from, but rather a project to pass our time and work for a company. I had been working with a pineapple juice cooperative known as IRA and took the last two weeks to learn each stage of the process. After trying to get the administration to allow us to spend more time looking into how we could support the cooperative with new initiatives such as an entrance in the European Union or an evaluation of the production efficiencies, the four of us who had been volunteering will move to a new project in the coming week.

There are several different volunteer projects, but I’ll get into the details of them in future updates.

My host family has been super since our arrival and always ready to cook a variety of new dishes for me to taste. The family that immediately lives with us includes our host mom, two sisters (14 and 3), a grandma, an uncle and his wife, and their son who is 1. Our other uncles and aunts visit often, but also many people from within the community drop by to get council from our grandma who is looked upon as an elder and advisor.

Also….Movember lives on in Africa and for the second year in a row I’m growing out a moustache to support the Movember campaign to raise awareness and education on prostate cancer. For over a week it was a handlebar moustache, but now it’s down to a regular old moustache….HA!

Anyways I will try and write an update at least every two weeks where I could post an article, write some thoughts, or just post some photos.

Remember to follow my updates at www.nestman.ca and check out our group website at www.cwyjcm.org.

Kai from Bénin Read More!

Canadian exchange nearing an end

Kai Nestman/Special to Coast Reporter

As my Canada World Youth (CWY) exchange in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Québec continues, the time left for my Canadian phase is quickly disappearing. Preparations have already begun for Bénin, and our volunteer projects are coming to an end.

Recently we hosted our educational activity day. Each counterpart team that is made up of one Canadian and one Béninois will host a full day that covers a specific theme and present information to the group while developing the topic. My team’s focus was on the economy, and we specified our subject on food economy. The activity that launched our theme was based on product research at a local grocery store. We had the group take an hour to research products and find out more information on their origin, whether the store carried local products or products of Bénin, and note where the products were made or fabricated.

The results made for some interesting debate. There was not one product that was marked ‘Made in Bénin’ and we were hard-pressed to find local products, although some could be made locally, but were marked ‘Made in Montréal.’ We discussed the effects of food transportation and outlined its relation to the environment. The group talked about food security and the need for more locally grown and fabricated products both in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and across Canada.

The educational activity days are just one facet of our exchange, while we spend the majority of our time working on our volunteer project.

Since the beginning of August there have been two of us, one Canadian and one Béninois, working on our volunteer project known as “Coupez le Moteur” (Cut the Motor).

The objective of the program is to create a platform for an idle-free community. Through the development of educational programs that outline the effects of an idling car and its relation to greenhouse gas emissions, the program will reduce wasted idling hours while decreasing the environmental footprint of the municipality. Education is a key component, as there are many myths linked to idling, especially during the cold winter months in Québec.

Idling wastes money and fuel and contributes to climate change. If a vehicle is going to be parked for more than 60 seconds, the engine should be turned off as long as the driver is not in traffic. Even during the cold days of winter, a vehicle can be warmed up by driving rather than idling, and during the coldest of days, only two to three minutes of idling is necessary. The program will be implemented by autumn 2010 along with a new municipal bylaw and promotional campaign.

Remember that there are many youth opportunities available and we should encourage this involvement through the communication of these experiences.

Youth from around the Sunshine Coast should participate in programs such as CWY, Rotary International Youth Exchange and Katimavik — programs that develop an appreciation of culture, language, community development and volunteering, and essentially an understanding of differences. As a community, we can only grow together by supporting our youth through these experiential educative programs as we bring our understanding and knowledge directly back to the Sunshine Coast.

For more information on my exchange and CWY experience, you can follow me at http://www.nestman.ca.

© 2009 blog.KaiNestman.ca

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Nuit des Sans Abris-Valleyfield-de-Salaberry 2009

Nuit des Sans Abris-Valleyfield-de-Salaberry 2009 ($-Gratuit)

Le soir de Octobre le 16 (2009) La Nuit des Sans Abri se tiendra auparc Salaberry. Tout le monde et bienvenue de tous les âges.

Il y aura des feux pour tenir tout le monde au chaud. Il y aura aussi des chansons, des présentation et discussions. Des bénévoles distribuera des vêtements d’hiver pour ceux qui sont moins fortunés.

Le groupe de Jeunesse Canada Monde vont être présente et favorable. On va aidé avec plusieurs aspect diffèrent de la nuit.
Le point culminant étant un spectacle.

Si vous besoin plus d`information SVP appeler (450) 373-1333

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Environmental theme takes centre stage

KAI NESTMAN/SPECIAL TO COAST REPORTER

SEPTEMBER 25, 2009

Sechelt – Through my Canada World Youth (CWY) exchange, our environmental theme has taken centre stage as we live our lives in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Qué.

As each day goes on during our volunteer projects, our experience is constantly demanding more and more as we strive to live as eco-friendly citizens.

Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is an environmentally-conscious municipality. It has taken on new initiatives to create an eco-friendly community through education and the development of programs to make it easy for the average citizen to participate and make their positive mark on the environment.

One program that especially makes its impact on the ground is the Escouade Verte also known as the Green Squad. It is set up through returning university students during the summer months and provides employment opportunities for youth. The Green Squad’s mission is to educate residents on recycling, pesticide use, composting, and water preservation. The group takes appointments with interested citizens wanting to know how they can implement best practices in their home and garden. There is also another team that does education throughout the community, while holding presentations at festivals and education at the elementary school level. These types of programs are the most practical as it starts with education at the most basic level and allows access to resources for residents.

We can make a difference one step at a time as we strive to incorporate smart environmental thinking into our daily lives. Timothée, my counterpart from Bénin, was the first to point out to our host family that they needed a compost for organic waste. We would notice each night while preparing dinner how much organic waste was thrown out into the garbage and headed straight to the local waste management site. Our host family has now pledged to have a compost by the time we finish our Canadian stage of the program. It’s just a simple move in the right direction and one that most host families have now made since their involvement with CWY.

We also encouraged our host family to install bottles of water into the reservoir of their over-consuming toilets to displace water usage. Old toilets can flush as much as 20 litres of fresh water down the drain.

Communities on the Sunshine Coast need to take a step further and embrace the environment throughout our daily lives. There needs to be a growing involvement with the municipalities to create the link between local government and residents as we develop high tier environmental programs that work best for the Coast. Let us work together to implement a higher standard of environmental awareness within our neighbourhood.

For more information on my exchange follow me at http://www.nestman.ca.

© 2009 blog.KaiNestman.ca

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Journée d'activité éducative - Économie Alimentaire

We held our Journée d'activité éducative - Économie Alimentaire (Educational Activity Day - Food Economy). Timothée and I presented various ideas that sparked long debates among the group as we strived to reach solutions and answers to out theme. Check out some examples of our slides below.

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Coupez le Moteur

Get some research of your own going for my volunteer project in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Québec! Check out these websites to learn more about an idle free project and Coupez le Moteur:

http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/programmes/coupez-le-moteur/index.htm

http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/idling/idling.cfm

http://www.idlefreebc.ca/

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Salaberry-de-Valleyfield - Our Team

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Jeunesse Canada Monde - Beginnings

Sechelt – After growing up on the Sunshine Coast, I attended the University of Ottawa for two years before taking the past year to develop my French while working in France and travelling around Europe.

Last autumn I applied through Canada World Youth (CWY) for their ‘Youth Leaders in Action’ exchange and was accepted for a Québec/Bénin team.

CWY has been developing international programs for youth ages 15 to 25 since 1971. Participants are involved in a six-month, two-phase program where the first phase occurs in Canada and the second phase in an exchange country. Each team of 20 volunteers are selected individually based on multiple demographic and socio-economic factors. The team is meant to represent a diverse group of youth, half from Canada and the other half from the exchange country.

CWY programs are based on a unique model that involves the two-part exchange, advocating an experiential-based learning environment while being paired with an exchange counterpart for the full duration of the experience. Youth develop through their involvement in grass-roots volunteer programs in host communities and work on group dynamics, leadership, and personal development. Each team has a focus while participating in their exchange and our team’s focus is the environment.

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is a major partner with CWY and funds exchanges throughout the world.

My first exchange phase of three months takes place in Valleyfield, Québec and began on July 30. Located just 50 minutes from Montréal on the island of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield with the Saint Lawrence River to the south and Lac Saint-Louis to the north, Valleyfield has a population of around 40,000 people.

The second phase of the exchange will begin at the end of October in Allada, Bénin — a country situated on the West Coast of Africa and bordered by Nigeria, Niger, Togo, and Burkina Faso.

Bénin, commonly known as Dahomey before 1975, has a population of roughly nine million people and is about nine times smaller than B.C.

Through the partnership and generous support of the Rotary Clubs of Sechelt, Sunshine Coast, and Squamish, and the Lions Club of the Sunshine Coast, I will be able to participate in this upcoming experience.

Youth in our community need to take advantage of the numerous opportunities both within Canada and abroad while they have the time to participate and get involved. We must communicate these experiences in order to encourage more youth participation and to take advantage of the valuable education through different cultures and the world around us.

Communities on the Sunshine Coast, such as Sechelt and Powell River have hosted exchange teams in the past and this year Sechelt will host a new team.

For more information on my exchange and Canada World Youth experience you can follow me at www.nestman.ca.

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