Around The Campfire

A Note from Colleen Oag of Team Phillipines 2011

2011-01-17T15:31:00.000-08:00

Putting words to the relationships formed and the experiences one has on a Global Youth Network trip is nearly impossible. There are so many organizations and opportunities out there, but working with people who have the same values and mindset is what I think makes Global Youth Network so unique. The Toronto Region is currently looking for people to travel to the Philippines or Guatemala this coming May 2011. Visit the Global Youth Network website for more information. To apply, simply download the application online and schedule an interview by emailing toronto@myglobalyouthnetwork.org SALAMAT! (Thank You!)

Colleen Oag

Team Philippines 2011

Canadian Government Endorses the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights!

2010-11-18T21:43:00.000-08:00

Global Youth Network is happy to announce that the Canadian government finally endorsed the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous rights. It only took three years!

Below are some statements from various leaders such as the Government of Canada, First Nations leaders, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Metis Nations Council, and Global Youth Network!

This is from the Government of Canada’s web site:

“On November 12, 2010, Canada issued a Statement of Support endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This endorsement offers an opportunity to strengthen relations with Aboriginal peoples in Canada, and to support our ongoing work on Indigenous issues internationally.

The Declaration describes the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, taking into account their specific cultural, social and economic circumstances. The Declaration also encourages harmonious, cooperative relationships between States and Indigenous peoples, based on the principles of equality, partnership, good faith and mutual respect. Canada strongly supports these principles and believes that they are consistent with the government's approach to working with Aboriginal peoples.” (inac.gc.ca)

Here are few of the responses from First Nations leaders:

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn A‐in‐chut Atleo (who is from Ahousaht a community that Global has been involved with for a number of years) states,

“Today marks an important shift in our relationship and now the real work begins,” National Chief Atleo said. “Now is our time to work together towards a new era of fairness and justice for First Nations and a stronger Canada for all Canadians, guided by the Declaration’s core principles of respect, partnership and reconciliation. First Nations have worked long and hard to set out constructive and effective approaches and to abandon the colonial relationship embodied in the Indian Act that has held back our people and this country. We are ready to move now – today – on our key priorities including education.”

“Today is important, not as the culmination of our efforts, but as the beginning of a new approach and a new agenda,” the National Chief stated. “Canada’s apology for the residential schools in 2008 was a critical moment to acknowledge the pain of the past. Endorsing the Declaration is the opportunity to look forward and re‐set the relationship between First Nations and the Crown so it is consistent with the Treaties and other agreements with First Nations upon which this country was founded. In endorsing the UN Declaration, Canada is committing to work with us as a true partner to achieve reconciliation as instructed by the courts in Canada.”

Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse stated, “Although the public endorsement of the UNDRIP by the Canadian government is a positive step forward it is clear that the reasons that Canada failed to endorse the Declaration three years ago still remain a primary focus of the Canadian government, illustrated by their assertion that the Declaration does not reflect international customary law. Chief Toulouse stated that the federal government offers the proper rhetoric about reconciliation and respect for Indigenous rights but has struggled to move beyond words to action to make reconciliation real and to build a relationship with First Nations based on mutual respect. Chief Toulouse indicated that it is imperative that government be willing to move beyond their entrenched and often unproductive positions to actually realize progress in the First Nation-Government relationship.”

Here is a statement from The Union of BC Indian Chiefs:

“We remain concerned that Canada’s actions, both domestically and abroad, are not reflecting the standards that the government now professes to support,” says Grand Chief Edward John, First Nations Summit, “Actions are more important than words. We will be carefully looking for concrete evidence that the government’s endorsement of the Declaration reflects a genuine willingness to uphold its provisions.”

From the Metis Nation Council:

President Chartier, “This decision helps to clear the way for a positive, constructive path forward for the Métis Nation and all Canadians in addressing many of the challenges facing our people across the homeland.”

The Métis National Council and its governing members are ready to work closely with the Government of Canada in adopting the UNDRIP’s core principles of mutual respect, equality, partnership and good faith.”

Global Youth Network's Statement:

There is still a lot of work to be done in the relationship between the Canadian Government and Aboriginal Peoples. The Government of Canada is a reflection of the priorities of the Canadian People, therefore there is still a lot of work to do at a grass roots level to restore a right relationship between Non Aboriginal Canadians and Aboriginal Peoples. Global Youth Network remains committed to exploring our role in creating places where reconciliation can take place. Our hope is that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples will be another resource and tool to bring about justice for Aboriginal Peoples in Canada and Indigenous Peoples around the world.

Canadian Government Endorses the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights!

2010-11-18T21:38:00.000-08:00

Global Youth Network is happy to announce that the Canadian government finally endorsed the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous rights. It only took three years!

Below are some statements from various leaders such as the Government of Canada, First Nations leaders, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Metis Nations Council, and Global Youth Network!

This is from the Government of Canada’s web site:

Here are few of the responses from First Nations leaders:

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn A‐in‐chut Atleo (who is from Ahousaht a community that Global has been involved with for a number of years) states,

Here is a statement from The Union of BC Indian Chiefs:

From the Metis Nation Council:

Global Youth Networks Statement:

A Global Youth Network declaration.

2010-11-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

To All: Global Regional Leaders
Global Club Executives
Global Cafe Leaders

As you know Global has a special interest in Indigenous issues through the years.
Consistently in regions where there are Indigenous peoples, they are the ones who
suffer under the most extreme cases of injustice. As an organization with a mandate
toward justice we cannot ignore what is happening with Indigenous peoples in the
countries in which we partner and especially within our own country.

As a response to the injustice faced by Indigenous peoples Global is asking you
to participate in a number of initiatives. These initiatives are of an advocacy and
educational nature, therefore will not take a great deal of your time.

The first initiative is a petition to the government of Canada asking them to sign on to
the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. On Sept. 13, 2007
the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples by a
vote of 144 to 4 with 11 abstentions. Canada, the United States, Australia and New
Zealand were the four nations that voted against. Australia and New Zealand have
changed their decision and both have now signed on to the Declaration.

According to the UN, the Declaration:

• establish a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity, well-being and

rights of the world’ s indigenous peoples;
addresses individual and collective rights;
identifies rights to education, health, employment and language;
outlaws discrimination against indigenous peoples;
ensures their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own priorities in economic, social and
cultural development;
• encourages harmonious and cooperative relations between States and indigenous peoples.

Canada’ s reason for not signing on to the declaration is that it is incompatible with Canada’ s
Constitution and the Canadian charter of Rights and Freedom. They state that the Declaration
affirms only the collective rights of Indigenous peoples and fails to balance individual and
collective rights or the rights of Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.

A group of Lawyers and Law professors who have researched and worked in the fields of
Indigenous rights and/or constitutional law in Canada, say that the governments claims
are misleading and that,” no credible legal rationale has been provided to substantiate these
extraordinary and erroneous claims.”

The Assembly of First Nations and other Aboriginal groups in Canada offered to work with
the government on a joint Statement of Understanding of the text to address the governments
concerns. However, the government declined this offer. The government has sought support
for its endorsement strategy from provincial and territorial governments, with no consultation

with Canadian Indigenous Peoples. Ontario has responded to the Federal Government with this
statement, “ As part of Ontario's continued efforts to enhance cooperation, and to build strong
relationships with Aboriginal people based on mutual respect, Premier Dalton McGuinty has
asked the Government of Canada to reconsider its position on the United Nations' Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Ontario supports a review of Canada's position on the Declaration as a means to demonstrate its
commitment to improving the lives of Aboriginal people throughout Canada. Reconsideration of
the Declaration would demonstrate Canada's willingness to foster an open dialogue to improve
the lives of Aboriginal peoples.”

The Declaration is a living instrument that is broadly supported and has universal application.
It provides a crucial context and framework towards ensuring justice, as well as the dignity,
security and well-being of Indigenous Peoples worldwide.

Global Youth Network would like to encourage the government of Canada to work with
Canadian Indigenous Peoples (First nations, Metis and Inuit) on a respectful process for the
endorsement and implementation of the Declaration.

Take Action

Educate yourself

http://www.amnesty.ca/iwriteforjustice/take_action.php?actionid=149&type=Internal

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/declaration.html

Declaration_on_the_Rights_of_I ndigenous_Peoples

http://www.iwgia.org/sw248.asp

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ap/ia/pubs/ddr/ddr-eng.asp

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ap/ia/pubs/ddr/ddr-eng.asp

http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ap/ia/pubs/updir/updir-eng.asp

http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/News_Releases/UBCI CNews04170801.htmlivepage.apple.com

http://www.afn.ca/article.asp?id=5201

http://www.afn.ca/article.asp?id=116

http://www.afn.ca/article.asp?id=2944

http://www.cfsc.quaker.ca/pages/un.html

Send a short, polite letter to Prime M inister Stephen Harper.

• Note that the UN Declaration is intended to address the discrimination that has denied
Indigenous peoples around the world the full enjoyment of their human rights.

• Welcome the federal government's commitment to endorsing the UN Declaration.

• Call on the government to fully endorse the Declaration, without conditions or limitations.

Example Letter:

Dear Prime Minister

I/We are writing to urge the Government of Canada to endorse the UN Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples without qualifications. Such an approach would respect the House of
Commons’ Motion on April 8 2008, calling for a full implementation of the Declaration.

The Declaration includes provisions that explicitly state that any interpretation is to be balanced
with other human rights protections and principles of justice and equality. Therefore, there is no
need to assert conditions or qualifications on support for the Declaration.

I/We encourage the Canadian Government to work with Indigenous Peoples (First Nations,
Metis, Inuit) on a respectful process for the endorsement and implementation of the declaration.

The letter should be written in such away as it reflects your specific group, like, University of
Guelph Global Youth Network club. or York University Justice club, or Global Youth Network
Hamilton region etc.

If you use this letter as a petition you will need to have each person sign their name, address,
postal code and phone #.

You can also send this through e mail by going to http://www.amnesty.ca/iwriteforjustice/
take_action.php?actionid=149& type=I nternal and cutting a pasting the letter to the Amnesty
on line petition. It is important to note a mailed letter or petition has more wait then an e mailed
one.

Write To

Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0A2
Fax: (613) 941-6900
Email: pm@pm.gc.ca

M ake sure you send the letter or e mail copy of letter to the opposition party’s

Email Address
DucepG@parl.gc.ca

M ailing Address - Parliament Hill Office
Gilles Duceppe, M.P.
Chef du Bloc Québécois
Chambre des communes
Ottawa (Ontario)
Canada
K1A 0A6

Email Address
DucepG@parl.gc.ca

Email Address
LaytoJ@parl.gc.ca

M ailing Address - Parliament Hill Office
Jack Layton, M.P.
Leader of the NDP
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
Canada
K1A 0A6

Email Address
LaytoJ@parl.gc.ca

M ichael I gnatieff

I n Ottawa:
Centre Block, 409-S
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Telephone: (613) 995-9364
Email: Ignatieff.M@parl.gc.ca

Elizabeth M ay

Leader, Green Party of Canada
leader@greenparty.ca

As you take a action with this letter and petition I hope you will keep me informed.

Dave Skene
dave@myglobalyouthnetwork.org

We are presently researching a Global Youth Network response on Aboriginal rights and the oil
sands in Alberta. We are hoping to have an action plan to submit to you in Nov.

Surely we did more than eat...

2010-02-21T23:04:00.000-08:00

This past week, we (YWAM Modesto)hosted another annual team from Canada. Every year, Global Youth Network sends us a team of student leaders to hang out with us in Modesto, learn about how we do outreach here and hopefully glean some useful stuff along the way. It was a great week but looking through my pictures, I'm having a hard time finding anything that doesn't involve food.

Of course, we started the week with our customary story telling tour of the places we have and do work in the city. And we end it at the taco trucks...of course...that's to be expected.

Yeah, but then we did a BBQ on South 9th Street

Well, yes...that's food too, I guess. Arley got creative and had his burger on a doughnut instead of a bun...

And Gilad and Trista gave it a shot...

But yeah, we did other stuff...like, uh, we...

Reconnected with the kids! Yes, we reconnected with our kids group in the Airport neighborhood...here we are playing soccer with the kids...

Right after we ate beans and rice with them at the park.

But seriously, we also did things like meet up with some ministry and initiative leaders to hear their heart for their neighborhoods. And the only picture I have of that is of the team picking grapefruit...to eat...

Ok, we ate. Alright, we admit it, we ate!

Oh, and we did take them into San Fransisco to see the sights...

Of Self Discovery

2009-10-28T15:42:00.001-07:00

It started in Argentina a couple of years ago. Actually, it started in Toronto. Here I was at the airport about to head on a 14 hour flight to Buenos Aires with 11 others who I met a few months earlier and knew very little about. 21 years of living had me thinking that I wanted to be famous and although the feelings of wanting to become famous are still very alive inside of me, it was for a thousand different reasons. Money. Attention. Possessions. At the age of three, I had dreams of becoming a professional wrestler. Being 8 brought us a World Series which in turn brought me the dream of wanting to become a Major League Baseball player. Turning 16 ushered in a dream of wanting to become a famous actor. Looking back, had I actually done something about these aspirations, such as joining a baseball team or taking acting lessons, who knows what may have happened. So life continued and I turned 18. The undeniable pressures of University were creeping up on me and like many kids at that age, I felt like I had to decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. So in hopes of becoming famous and with the recommendation of a friend, I decided to go to Wilfrid Laurier University and join their Communications program, for these moves all marked the first steps in realizing my new and exciting dream: to become a famous TV or radio personality. In what form? Who knew! Just as long as it meant I'd become famous. So I went through the motions and it took me just over two years of being a University student to discover that something wasn't adding up here. I'm paying all this money and I haven't touched a camera yet! I'm going into debt but I don't even know what a soundboard looks like. Imagine a monkey scratching its head, but only that the monkey is me and I'm scratching for a year. Here I was in my third year, completely turned off of higher education. I had no idea where I was going, I had no idea what brought me there, and worst off, I felt lost. Lost in every way.

So as reality was jabbing me in the head, I met this girl at school and she told me about her plans to go to the Amazon for one month with this organization I had never heard of, Global Youth Network. From what I gathered, she was going there to learn about the culture and do some humanitarian work. As I was completely interested in her and completely uninterested in what she was saying, I did what most young male adults do: I pretended to be interested in what she was saying. I told her that I had the same aspirations and dreams and I asked her for more information. Now, if she had access to a movie which showed the past 21 years of my life, she would have uncovered me for the fraud I was because as my track record showed, I never did anything to actually turn my dreams into everyday life. Regardless, I got all the details and in hopes of trying to impress her as much as I could, I called them and inquired about any available trips.

Well, I sort of called them. I hung up after one ring and went on with my day. "Are you nuts? Why are you calling them?", I would ask. "Because I like this girl and this is the only way it's going to happen!", I would answer. A week went by and for whatever reason that day, I decided to pick up the phone and call again, but this time, I would let the phone ring until I got an answering machine because at least this was a way to convince myself that I was really trying. Two rings and a friendly lady picked up the phone. I got an interview the next day which I nailed and now I was going to Argentina. But more importantly, who cared?! This girl was going to be totally impressed!

Now, when you're living with six male roommates who are all typically "University," explaining a "cross-cultural, educational and transformative volunteer trip to the South" is not an easy thing to do. Being a male, this demonstrated that I had some sort of passion or emotion for something or someone that wasn't me and this was a big no no in the man field. Regardless, I went through with it.

So I guess the prelude started in Toronto, but what really started really started in Argentina. Somewhere in Argentina. Now, I'm not going to lie and provide you with a scene where I'm standing in a dewey field at sunrise with a bunch of disabled orphans holding hands and kumbaya'ing together with the presence of God hovering over us and smiling warmly. To be honest, I can't do much in terms of pinpointing a day, time or moment that brought me to the realization and truth of what I wanted to do with my life, but I can tell you it was somewhere in Argentina. And so here I was in South America understanding that I was an able-bodied, healthy individual with an education and a knack for socialization, a healthy and growing network, a good group of friends and perhaps most importantly - I not only realized that I was lucky to have this opportunity to travel abroad and 'discover myself,' but that I was even luckier to be an educated and sociable individual with good friends and a growing network because for the first time in my life, I had met people, family, neighbourhoods and others who weren't fortunate enough to be given the same opportunities to grow into the situations I had grown into. Sorry for putting you through the longest sentence of your life just now but that's how it came tumbling out of my mind. And so it wasn't the comforts of home, school or friendship that helped me come to this epiphany, but it was the opposite. In the presence of strangers in a strange land, I figured out just who I wanted to become.

Each 'Global' trip that I've done has been unique and beneficial to my growth in its own way. California the following year taught me the importance of relationships and being equal in the face of those who society tells you are lower than you. Venezuela the next year taught me a lot about my leadership abilities. And Kenya, most recently, has taught me about the remarkable strength and hope that others may deem as weak and hopeless. The beauty is that people are people no matter where you go. A happy moment calls for a smile and a sad one can call for a cry. I've been fortunate enough to be able to go to different places and realize that we are mostly all the same and that we are all in this together. Brothers and sisters.

And so three trips were enough to convince that girl in University to marry me and four trips were enough to convince Global to hire me. And although it's been 22 years since I interpreted that voice inside me screaming "GET FAMOUS!", I think I've finally learned in which way that voice was craving for me to get attention: by using my education, knack for socialization and healthy and growing network to educate others and at least for now, assist them in helping the local community or traveling abroad so they can all say something along the lines of, "It all started in Argentina" too.

- Gilad

Camp Awesome was awesome!

2009-07-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

We survived the Road of Death!

2009-05-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

Hey all,
checking in from Bolivia! We are having a phenomenal time with such varied experiences in the last couple of weeks.. here´s a bit of an update

to get from la paz to the amazon we took the road of death.. SUCH a thrilling and incredible experience.. (check out photos on google) .. there were times when we were passing transport trucks on a road barely wide enough for us!! the wheel would still be on the road but the back part of the bus would be hanging over the edge.... every pore in my body was sweating from fear!! haha but now its a great experience and i would totally do it again.

the place we worked at is this incredible community called san miguel and they have an eco lodge/eco tourism enterprise called san miguel del bala... it is located in THE most beautiful picturesque location, right on the river (which eventuallly becomes the amazon river) nestled in majestic mountains covered in lush greens (so lush, and damp that our clothes never really dried and developed some seriously rank stenches after long days of work.. haha). The lodge was amazing.. we all stayed in a screened in common area with a bed for each of us.. we ate about 100 metres up from the river, learned some amazing and delicious recipes from the cooks we cooked with (we ground up rice to make rice flour for pan de arroz, got to make this delicious banana cream dessert (which Vicky says she is serving at her wedding) we had fresh grapefruit everyday right from the tree (SO SO SO delicious!!)). the food was amazing and plenty.. so much food every day!

we did some really awesome work with them too... hauled bags of rocks from the beach up about 100 stairs to our cabins for walkways they were building, also foraged in the forest for rocks for a wall near their water reserve, cleared paths through the rain forest (with machetes, of course!), carried dirt.. well more clay (doesn´t sound impressive but, boy, were we sweating) with the women in the village for the floor of the communal kitchen which they are building. We also spent lots of time playing with the kids in the community --- so wonderful.. they are just so adorable and its such an incredible and tight community. We got to pick lots of grapefruit, juice sugar cane, swim in the river (couple times), take some great boat rides, climb to a waterfall and through an incredible rock canyon (really narrow and curved from years of water flowing through) in bare feet! we saw a capybara, snake up close and personal (in the wild) lots of spiders (big and small "toxico" and not), saw a jaguar footprint(!!) heard and kind of saw 2 herds of wild amazonian boars, and saw some beautiful parrots and other birds (incredible and exotic songs as well).

So we are in Cochabamba right now... its a lovely and beautiful city. long and carsick bus ride to get here (took a sketchy plane from the amazon to la paz (no death road on the way back) and then took a 8 hour bus ride through the mountains.. so windey) we are working with an Australian couple who have taken in 30 + kids and have this incredible orphanage. so beautiful and the kids are great! The team has enjoyed having an english speaking contact and it´s great to be able to connect with the kids in a different way as most of them have learned some basic english too!

Lots of adventures, stories and photos with each day... looking forward to sharing them when we get home. So glad to hear of the other team´s exciting adventures and hope they are all finishing well.

That´s all for now.. hope to update again before we´re home.

elise

Ghana is a sauna.

2009-05-18T07:43:00.000-07:00

A quick update from SFU Ghana...

The team has been staying in Apam, a small town on the coast a couple of hours west of the capital city, Accra. We have been keeping busy working at the local hospital doing administrative-type work and teaching in the nearby schools. Teaching in particular has been a lot of fun - the kids here are so much more well-behaved than back home!

Everyone on the team is doing really well. There have been few minor illnesses but overall we couldn't have asked for better fortune. This weekend we had a chance to tour a couple of the very first fortifications built by colonialists in Cape Coast. Really interesting stuff. It's hard to believe we only have just over a week left in our stay. We'll be heading west to relax at a lodge for our last few days before returning to Vancouver via Amsterdam.

It's been great reading the updates from all the other teams. Keep up the good work!

Greg

Another one already!?!?!

2009-05-12T03:30:00.000-07:00

Hey All!!!!
I'm aware that Team Cambodia here is probably the most enthusiastic bloggers at the moment, but we don't really have a choice in the matter since as of sunday we won't have internet for the rest of the month, so I feel we need to cram in some updated goodness while we can.

Updates on all our little misfortunes:
-the bag = still lost
-the airlines = not being very helpful
-everything else is better, but we do have a bit of a sore throat going around...

As for new stuff...
On saturday we got to tour the city. We got to see such spectacles as the National Palace, the National Gallery, a Buddhist Temple, and a monument on a hill that had tons of wild monkeys running around (still not exactly sure where we were for that one... I was distracted by a rather fat monkey when we were getting the explanation)
Thought for the day: If you're gonna see a city, travel in style. Get a Buddhist monk to show you around (one of our contacts... he was conveniently in the city that day)

Sunday was the Killing Fields and S21 prison... Difficult to describe the effect of those places, but suffice to say it was a heavy day.
Thought for the day: Genocide sucks... (please don't hate me for oversimplifying that one)

Yesterday and today we were back in the schools. It's really great to work with those kids, but we were all very sad to have to end that part of our saga today... we were slated to be doing that the whole week, but the King has decided to have a 3 day birthday party starting tomorrow... national holidays = no school. It really sucked to have to blaze right out of some of their lives just as fast as we came into them.
Thought for the day: Royalty really knows how to throw a party... and ruin the fun of aid workers.

That's about all I've got for now (just got in from the school, and it's about dinnertime... FYI all other global teams are going to hate us when we tell you guys what kind of style we're eating in)
Look for my/our next post sometime saturday night/sunday morning our time (no clue what that is your time and too drained to try to do the math)
Lehai (bye in khmer)
Adam

Gifts around the world...

2009-05-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

This is team Ghana packing up 300 pairs of pink Crocs they are taking as gifts.

And team Mizoram (India) packing up 19 microscopes to aid new malaria clinics!

Orientations are over and (as you can read below) teams have arrived at their locations and are hitting the ground running. Keep checking back for updates from the team all through the month of May.

Calamity Central

2009-05-08T03:40:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the oh-so-hot other side of the planet!!! (otherwise known as Cambodia!)

Oh how fun it has been...
So we arrived at Pearson on time, but nowhere else. It seemed to be the status quo that our flights would get bumped. We got delayed so much we actually missed our final transfer and had to get routed through Vietnam. We made our final leg on a little propeller plane (actually kinda fun), and only ended up being 8 or 10 hours late, arriving sometime Wednesday morning southern Ontario time.

but of course that isn't all the fun... we've also had:
-one team member's bag get lost (read LOST, as in the airlines have no idea where it is)
-one severe case of nausea (it's gone now)
-an intern lose his voice (it's back now)
-and some severe jet-lag (granted, we expected that one)

Don't get me wrong, everyone is having a blast. We're enjoying the local fruits a lot, despite not knowing their names (we affectionately dub them things like "ugly fruit" "smelly fruit" "red fuzzy's" and "brown spikey"... or at least some of us do)

We also managed to start work today. We've divided into three teams to work at different schools, one in a slum, and two in the garbage dump (as in the piles of garbage are right outside the doors). The kids are great, and their enthusiasm for learning really brings joy to everyone on the team. It's really fun working with them, but their English textbooks, for those that have them, are a little outdated (read: last edition published in 1965) which leads to some very interesting situations (read: politically incorrect). But hey, the teachers seem fine with it!

Anyways, as much as I could go on and on about this, it's about dinner time and I'm really looking forward to eating and a shower (my first in five days, including two in country... with 30ish degree heat and ridiculous humidity, BO is getting to be an issue :S)

Happy travels!!
Adam

TEAM AMAZON...almost did not make it...bRRPP

2009-05-05T13:57:00.001-07:00

Addiction to peanut butter...almost led to 11 people who were going to miss their flights and make a camp ground out of the Toronto airport.

What was the peanut butter connected to? ...Tim Hortons, the evil master of money collection in Toronto , Canada, and soon the world.

So we had a few members waiting eagerly for the joy that is peanut butter in an extremely lonnnnnnnnnnnnnng lineup. Later on we found out that the people in this line up were from a London flight that was delayed...due to lack of water on the airplane.

Their compensation? $12 worth of Free Tims. Now believe it or not, each person getting $12 is a heck of a lot of Tims. It was maddness all around.

By the time those members reached the glorious light, the last call to board had been made...but only a few others heard it...this led to scrambling on all parts. Us, the tims people, the londeners pushing us out of their way, the flight attendents threatening to toss our luggage off the plane, the lack of watches and clocks, and the general delirium of having to play the waiting game all day.

But. Fortunately, up above was looking out for us, and we made it to the plane just in time...16 packets of peanut butter in hand.

BOO YA!

Lessons learned:
- need more watches
- Pearson needs more clocks
- Attendents need to speak louder
- peanut butter puts you in sticky situations, Tims in even stickier ones
- Doñ~t travel to London
- and of course, work on general communication skills.

But what served as an interesting experince, allowed a great learning opportunity.

We cannot wait for what adventures come our way next.

Somos en La Paz!

2009-05-05T13:44:00.001-07:00

Hey all,

Team bolivia has arrived safely in La Paz! We got in this morning at 5 AM.... chillly airport and we all felt a bit woozy due to the altitude. We took a beautiful taxi ride as the sun was rising and started to see the incredible snow capped mountains that surrounded us! The whole team was glued to the windows, taking in all the exciting city life that surrounded us. We were dropped off at our hostel (El Solario) and waited around a bit to get our rooms (as we did arrive at about 7AM). The whole team passed out for a while in our rooms (which are great! nice and clean with warm blankets -- very necessary as it is really chilly).

This afternoon we strolled around our neighbourhood which was an awesome intro to bolivia experience. We got some tasty cheese filled buns and explored the mercados (markets). We also happened upon a (peaceful!) march of the clothing vendors of bolivia who are marching for rights to sell used clothing (so the security guard told us). The team is learning spanish bit by bit which is great! We explored more of the city and familiarized ourselves with the streets, grabbed some freshly squeezed orange juice, and some delicious empenada-like pastries with potatoes and chicken or egg... with tasty salsa! Walking around the markets made everyone eager to go back and try some of the delicious meals they serve.

We are back in the hostel now.. taking it VERY easy -- the altitude makes us all feel very unfit haha. Climbing stairs is a big feat. But our bodies are aclimiatizing and we are staying hydrated!

The next few days we will be working with Para Los Ninos - going to meet up with Marlieke from the organization tonight or tomorrow to figure out the details. We will be working with a couple of orphanages in La Paz and there is talk of a painting project at one of the houses which would be awesome. The kids here are super adorable, can´t wait to start working with the orphanages.

Hope all the other teams are safe and well and the same for folks at home :)

lots of love from team bolivia,

Elise

Saucy Kumasi

2009-05-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

What's up Globalites?!?!

Well, as orientaiton in Ontario is probably getting under way right about now, I would just like to say how fantastic a job Dave, Chris, and Becky did at running the first official Vancouver orientation. Even bigger and better poo and worm stories, if you can believe it. All in all, a huge success.

So SFU Ghana arrived in the capital city after a long but smooth trans-Canada, transatlantic, trans-Sahara flight, followed by a bumpy nocturnal bus ride north to the second biggest city, Kumasi. We were welcomed by Patrick, who has been an amazing host to our team of eight. He's even welcomed us into his 2-bedroom apartment and the team couldn't be more grateful for his hospitality.

After a short sleep, we began our first full day in Ghana by meeting the a number of important figures in the region, including the head chiefs of two communities. We also met with members of Human Life Ghana, the NGO we are working with until Wednesday. They asked us to give ourselves a team name, and we've decided on Canada Hip-Life. (Hip-Life is the modern hip-hop style version of Ghana's traditional music, high life.) Although I have to say, I think we may have lost some of our street cred when a few of our teammates tought some kids in the community songs like The Hokey Pokey and Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. A remixed version featuring T.I. would be greatly appreciated if anyone could pass that along.

Today we helped paint a community health centre and got to witness first hand the making of kente fabric... v. cool.

Well we're here in Kumasi until Wednesday, at which time we'll be travelling to Apam, a small village on the coast to work and stay at the Catholic hospital there. On behalf of the whole SFU Ghana team, we'd like to wish all teams travelling all over the world an incredible and safe experience.

Peace and love,
Greg

P.S. Kelso, I beat you to the first post bi-atch!
P.P.S. I love Sasha Knight!!!

First team away!

2009-04-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

We just wrapped up the first (in a long time) Global orientation here in BC! There are two new locations this year at Simon Frasier University (on their way to Ghana) and UBC (gearing up for Thailand tomorrow!).

Their visas for Ghana came in at the last minute (inspiring the new podcast) and as I'm writing this they are checking in at the Vancouver airport!

We'll finish tonight with the Thailand team and have our first orientation dismissed and off to their locations.

Here we go!

2009-04-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks, if you haven't noticed there's a new podcast episode over there to be listened to...it turned out pretty good. It's Dave telling the nail biting story of the first Global orientation. Go on over there, press play and enjoy.

Also, there are 26 teams heading out all over the world this weekend for this years Global trips. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

And keep checking back here for updates, stories and pictures from those teams throughout May.

Thanks!

Chris

Global article in the Oakville paper!

2009-03-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

Check it out...GLONK HERE.

YWAM Modesto hosts Global Youth Network!

2009-02-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

-by Chris

We partner with a Canadian organization called Global Youth Network. Every year they bring a batch of young leaders to Modesto for a week of outreach and training...which really means they hang out with us and do what we do with us. We love Global teams! Here's some pictures from the week...some from my phone and others from the team...

Day #1 - The obligatory touristy day in the city...Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge, Sunset over the ocean and awesome curry!

Day #2 - Church in the morning and a tour of Modesto and where we work for orientation.

Day #3 - the team spent the whole day downtown with no money, food or resources. They had to rely solely on homeless people to find out where to go for food. They ended up making some really good friends.

Day #4 - We spent the morning with Advancing Vibrant Communities hearing about their work and then we went and did a project with them...chopping and stacking wood for an elderly lady and her daughter...

...then we barbecued for the South 9th St. community...

This team dug in to our heart to make friends and let relationship and compassion lead the way.

Day #5 - Yosemite!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day #6 - We went back to 9th St and reconnected with friends from earlier in the week...

These guys were more than just another team...they dove into our heart for people and became friends and co-workers. We even dreamed together about the future. Yay team!

And I think we wore them out a bit.

Podcast #2!

2008-11-22T22:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, our other service is acting weird so look over there ------->

I put a player right here in the blog! That's pretty cool. You can listen here or click on the player to download or subscribe...again.

Tim in Mizoram

2008-04-02T16:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome around the campfire!

2008-03-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

This is where we'll be posting links to updates of our new Global podcast, telling stories and keeping you connected with Global Youth Network. Do you have a story to share? Leave a comment or email Chris at: globalyouthnet@yahoo.ca

Linked below is our first podcast out the gate where Dave Skene tells his famous "bread" story.

Click here and enjoy!

And coming soon, find our podcast in the itunes store under "Around the Campfire"

Let us know what you think!