by Le Thi Ha It was really hard for me to decide whether or not I should enrol in Canada World Youth’s exchange program. Having just finished university with many job opportunities coming to me, my family wanted me to have a stable job, but I engaged in this program and now see I made the right choice.
Experiences and memories have appeared gradually throughout the program. We have our own counterpart, host family, host community and new friends coming from different regions of Vietnam and Canada. Joining this team and starting out as strangers has been a valuable experience. We have quickly set down roots and made links with each other and our host communities.
When we started our first three months of this program in Vietnam it was a challenge for us to overcome frequent misunderstandings in communication among the group because of barriers in language, culture and lifestyles. Had it not been for the patience and sincerity of each participant we could not have had the mutual understanding we have now.
When our group moved to Canada to continue the exchange, lifestyle, culture, and other factors seemed to be challenges and rewards to the Vietnamese volunteers. We received so much help from our host families when they opened their doors and hearts to welcome us as family. The people of Powell River have been such a support to us as well. Some we have met through the program, and some we just met on the street, but everyone in Powell River has been very hospitable, generous and kind. Despite our short time in this community we were never short of people offering support and a big hand to help us.
One of the best ways for volunteers to integrate into a host community is to actively participate in the lives of those individuals who make up that community. In Vietnam we gave presentations about health issues and gender equality, we helped the less fortunate families with farm work, we taught English for elementary and secondary students, and we worked on improving waste disposal to encourage the community to protect the environment. We have tried to follow that same formula here. We have each had our own work placement, such as Powell River Brain Injury Society, Powell River Youth Resource Centre, Family Place, Powell River Therapeutic Riding Association, CJMP Radio, Kiwanis Housing, Powell River Community Resource Centre and Powell River Association for Community Living’s Community Living Place. In such work placements, we all found inspiration to learn new things and challenge ourselves.
This is a pretty wonderful program because it really is a global youth exchange in every sense of the word. We are all grateful to the organization and this community for giving us a chance to engage in the development of the community and to discover and experience ourselves in such wonderful and diverse ways.
Le Thi Ha is 22 years old from Vietnam, participating in the Canada World Youth exchange program, and has been volunteering at Powell River Brain Injury Society during her stay in Powell River.
