1 month left and a lot happening!

Well here we are with one month to go and many things to get done!!

Canada World Youth Keeps Busy in Kingston!

Check out our new Facebook page HERE

With the temperature dropping, Canada World Youth (CWY) exchange participants keep warm by keeping busy. The group of 18 volunteers (9 Canadian and 9 Vietnamese) arrived in Kingston October 20 and spend most of their days volunteering with community organizations and organizing educational and community outreach activities. The group is in Kingston until December 21.

Notable upcoming activities the team is organizing are a Gender Safety Audit on November 28 at 8pm, and Vietnam Day on December 7 at 4pm. We will also be collecting donations as part of the Red Ribbon Army campaign fundraising for HIV/AIDS Regional Services (HARS) in Kingston on Saturday November 22 from 10-4 at various grocery stores (No Frills on Division, Loblaws at Kingston Centre, John's Deli, Metro downtown and Fodo Basics on Barrack)

The Gender Safety Audit is based on a model developed by Canadian organization, METRAC, which involves walking through pre-identified areas in small groups to note particular features that contribute to lack of safety or security, particularly in relation to gender based violence. By looking at features such as lighting, signage, sight lines, maintenance, access to communication and transit, nearby houses and businesses, and circulation of people, to name a few, environmental factors affecting security will be assessed. From this, in collaboration with local stakeholders, recommendations will be produced on how to make our community, and these specific areas, safer. The group would like to invite any community members to participate. Check us out on Facebook to connect and for the locations!

Vietnam Day is an exposition of Vietnamese and Canadian culture and the group’s talents and experiences. The team will put on a variety of performances, talk about their experiences, and also present their recommendations from the gender safety audit. Following two months in Hoa Binh province, Vietnam from August to October the group has many stories to share! This event will take place December 7 at Kingston Community Health Center at 4pm.

With a program focus on gender equality and health the group brings to Kingston their experience of two months of community volunteer work, including planning and facilitating youth education campaigns on gender equality and reproductive health in Vietnam. In Kingston, the group has demonstrated their enthusiasm and interest in volunteer service by working on a weekly basis at Martha’s Table, Frontenac Public School, St Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army, Providence Manor, Ontario Public Interest Research Group, Ban Righ Centre, Levana Gender Advocacy Centre and Caring Campus, a project on mental health and substance use at Queen’s. Group members are also volunteering with the Lung Association for the Tree Festival, Memorial Centre Farmer’s Market to prepare for the season, HIV/AIDS Regional Services on their Red Ribbon Campaign, and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

Canada World Youth is an exchange program with a focus on cross cultural exchange and experiential education. By running programs since 1972 in 69 countries, over 37,000 youth have lived the CWY experience. Following five years of exchanges with Bolivia in Kingston, this is the first year the organization has brought Vietnamese youth to town. The exchange is made possible with financial support from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, and is made a reality by the amazing host families across Kingston who have opened their doors to share their lives with youth volunteers, and the community organizations that help the youth to develop new skills and engage in the Kingston community.