Haida Gwaii SEVEC Trip

It's time for another YAYA trip!

Ottawa Presbytery Youth have a wonderful opportunity to participate in a national, subsidized student exchange program through the Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges in Canada (SEVEC) with a group of aboriginal youth from Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands). This program provides a unique opportunity for students to meet new people and experience diversity by travelling to another region of Canada and staying with their host group.

SEVEC is a national charity which has been offering home stay exchanges to young Canadians for over 75 years.  The organization is committed to offering safe, secure and educational exchange opportunities which encourage the intellectual, cultural, linguistic and social development of young people. The cost of travel from one region of Canada to the other is entirely funded by SEVEC through the Department of Canadian Heritage, while hosting groups provide meals, transportation and cover admission/activity costs while they are hosting their visitors.

On March 6^th, 2014, 32 Ottawa Presbytery youth aged 12 to 17 will travel to Haida Gwaii, accompanied by 5 adult chaperones.  Following a week of experiencing life on Haida Gwaii and learning about the history and culture of our exchange partners, we will return to Ottawa on March 14^th.  Their group will travel during their March break, which is immediately following ours.  They will arrive in Ottawa on the morning of March 16^th and stay with us until March 22^nd.  While they are here, the Haida Gwaii youth will be billeted with our youth

Our exchange partners are part of the “Swan Bay Rediscovery Program”.  The Swan Bay Rediscovery Program is a cultural program where the youth learn important Haida cultural skills and knowledge while acquiring new life skills, self-esteem and confidence.  With traditional Haida values at its center, youth participate in a variety of activities designed to challenge, teach and nurture. They learn about the outdoors, the ecology of Gwaii Hanaas, Haida culture, survival skills, cooking skills, navigation skills, etc. They play games, swim, hike, sing Haida songs, dance and do cedar bark weaving. They learn from elders as well as visit archaeological sites and Haida heritage sites.  While there, we will be joining the Haida Youth in these types of activities.

While here, our exchange group has asked to get an experience of Ottawa, Canada’s capital city.  They will visit the Parliament buildings, the Museum of Civilization, the Art Gallery and the War Museum as well as a visit to Rideau Hall.  They will also attend a Senator’s game and spend an afternoon at a sugar bush. 

All these activities are important and fun, but at the heart of the program is the opportunity to get to know youth of another culture, learning from each other, recognizing our similarities and differences and having fun together.  Perhaps the biggest benefit is that the dynamic between the two groups will change from “them and us” to “my friends…”!    Through the bonds of friendship, bit by bit we can start to make a difference in attitudes of acceptance and understanding across our diversely rich country of Canada.