By Sarah Boucaud, Outreach Assistant, Global Health Office

We want to give a warm welcome to our new volunteers from Canada World Youth (CWY)! Oksana and Priscilla arrived in the city of Halifax on September 18th, 2014. They have been busy getting to know Dalhousie and the city of Halifax ever since. It’s a great opportunity for Dalhousie to host such inspiring individuals, eager to learn and volunteer their time! In fact, they won’t only be learning from the great initiatives at Dalhousie, they will also be sharing their experiences with our community.

CWY is a program founded in 1971 that offers international volunteer programs to youth from Canada and abroad. Through participation in community-driven development projects, these youth acquire the leadership skills to become agents of change. Youth are between the ages of 18 and 25 years and are paired with a counterpart from another country. All participants are living with host families during their stay in Halifax and will be spending the second part of their time with CWY abroad.

It’s about youth and their capacity to create sustainable change – CWY

Oksana and Priscilla have been spending most of their time with the Global Health Office and so far have worked on helping to support the recruitment of high school graduates into the health professions at Dalhousie. They have also worked with Dalhousie’s Health Promotion group and supported events during mental health week.

 

So, without further delay, we wanted to give the opportunity for our keen volunteers to say hi:

Oksana

Hello everyone! My name is Oksana. I was born and raised in Vancouver, BC, and am currently in Halifax for the next 3 months. I am so excited to be on the east coast and am hoping to try some lobster sometime soon.  I was interested in volunteering at the Global Health Office because I find it interesting to look at health issues beyond geographic borders. I think it’s important to help decrease health inequities around the world, regardless of race, culture, gender or social class.

As part of my experience with CWY, I am excited to learn more about new cultures. I am also hoping to learn more about myself and become a more independent individual.

Priscilla

Priscilla is my name. I come from Tema, in Ghana, which is in the Western part of Africa.  It’s been exciting being a volunteer for CWY. I hope to learn the distinct culture of people living in Halifax. Volunteering with the Global Health Office has been a step to help me realise what I really want to pursue since I have an interest in health. I hope to learn more about health and possible careers in order to create a platform to educate my home country more about their health and well-being. My stay here so far in Halifax has been fun and I’m looking forward to visiting new places around the city.

Be sure to offer our students a warm welcome if you see them! They will be with us for a total of three months, dedicating their time to various health related initiatives on campus and in the community.

For more information about Canada World Youth, please visit: http://canadaworldyouth.org/