StFX hosts Coady Youth Forum
March 25, 2010 6:09 AM
On Tuesday, March 16, the latest students to volunteer abroad through the Coady International Institute presented their experiences at the Coady Youth Forum to an audience at Dennis Hall.
Dan MacKinnon, Courtney MacNeil, Matthew Chisholm, Meghan MacEachern and Christine Layden recently returned from their placements in Africa.
While absent from the evening’s presentations, fourth year psychology student Kate Jackson also recently returned as an associate in Zambia with Women for Change.
The associates are all currently third or fourth year students at StFX. MacKinnon, MacNeil, Chisholm and Jackson volunteered from September to December 2009 through internships established with the Association of Universities and Colleges’ Students for Development (SFD) program.
The program is distinct from the Coady’s Youth in Partnership [YIP] Program now entering its fourteenth year. [YIP] is exclusively for recent graduates of post-secondary institutions under the age of 30 who are unemployed or underemployed.
MacEachern and Layden’s trips were self-funded and took place for several weeks during the summer of 2009.
Because the youth forum took place several months after their return to Canada, Youth Programs Coordinator Natalie Abdou expressed her hope in her opening remarks that the associates had adequate time to reflect upon their “stories of happiness, challenge and ultimately human challenge.”
Following Abdou’s address, each associate gave a ten minute power point presentation about their personal journeys.
Like many of the interns, MacKinnon explained he was initially unsure if volunteering for months in Africa was right for him. After the application process, he was placed with the Community Research in Environment and Development Initiative in Bungoma, Kenya.
“The [application] process moved so quickly that I found out before I got a chance to tell my parents [I had applied]. I came home to Cape Breton…and said that in two months I was going to Kenya. They didn’t say anything at first. I then said, ‘Well you know it’s in Africa, right?’ And they dropped what they were doing,” MacKinnon jokes.
Looking back, many of the associates could already discern changes in their skill sets, confidence, and personal outlook.
Chisholm volunteered in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, with Families South Africa and reported feeling a new sense of direction in his life upon his return to Canada.
“[Before I left], I stumbled across a plaque [at the Coady] and it never really hit in force before I came back,” Chisholm recalls, noting that in South Africa he came across the same quote: And as we let our own light shine, we give other people permission to do the same. It is a phrase made famous by Nelson Mandela.
“I used to live a life of distraction, but now [I’m] in a point of clarity. I’m taking on new opportunities now like South Africa. I ask the crowd [here tonight], including the new cohorts, to continue to keep the flame lit as you seek out your own true adventures,” Chisholm affirms.
For her part, MacNeil’s work with the Youth Association for Human Rights Promotion and Development (AJPRODHO) in Kigali, Rwanda, focused on advancing LGBTQ rights in Rwanda and involved her in a landmark reform to official policy.
Around the time of MacNeil’s arrival, the Rwandan government was working to criminalize “homosexual activity” as well as those who attempt to advocate on their behalf. In response, a coalition with a core group of 30 non-government organizations formed to fight the proposed bill, including AJPRODHO.
MacNeil drafted the coalition’s response herself and secured US $10 thousand to fight on behalf of LGBTQ rights. As a result of the coalition’s intense lobbying efforts, the proposed bill was successfully dropped from the penal code.
Meanwhile, MacEachern’s work with the Holy Cross Hospice in Gaborone provided day and home care to the patients who visited the hospice each day, including sessions on healthy lifestyles. For many of the patients suffering HIV/AIDS, this element was vital as proper nutrition facilitates the absorption of their medication.
She gave four recommendations for those interested in volunteering.
“[Go with] zero expectations, smile and greet people [because it’s] extremely important in a lot of cultures, breathe and relish the freedom, and ask questions in a respectful and appropriate way.”
Layden, who recently transferred to StFX from McGill University, revealed that the opportunities presented by the Coady drew her to StFX.
She, too, worked at the Holy Cross Hospice in Gaborone, Botswana, albeit with the associated preschool. She provided social work for local children, including for those recently orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The lessons she learned from them translated despite their language barriers.
“I learned that communication is more than words. It’s tempting to label…but the culture is only different… Change can’t just be imposed; it has to come from within.”
Following the associates’ presentations, Director of the Coady and Vice President of StFX Mary Coyle thanked the associates for their feedback.
“You brought [to your placements] your talents and also humor, respect, adaptability, curiosity [and] generosity of spirit. You also came back with an awful lot…Each [of you] had individual experiences but [you are] part of a network of people of StFX and Coady people around the world… We are so proud of every one of you,” says Coyle.
Finally, at the night’s end, Sean Riley took the stage for the final word.
“I listened very intently to Mary Coyle’s speech and she used every adjective and concept I wanted to use, so let me just say, amen!”
