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Canada World Youth looking for host families as program start nears

Canada World Youth is coming to Haida Gwaii for the first time in program history.
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Raven Ann Potschka and Yolanda Clatworthy are bringing youth from Indonesia and across the country to Haida Gwaii for volunteer experience as part of the Canada World Youth program.

Canada World Youth is coming to Haida Gwaii for the first time in program history and organizers are looking for some families willing to open their home to young people from across the country and across the globe.

The Youth Leaders in Action program will bring nine Canadians and nine young people from Indonesia to Masset and Old Massett for four months beginning Oct. 7 to not only learn the culture of the area but make a difference in the community through volunteer work.

"Each program has a theme and our dual theme for the Haida Gwaii visit is health and the environment. So every project we do will be related to either health or the Haida Gwaii environment," explained program supervisor Yolanda Clatworthy, noting students will provide approximately 4,000 hours of volunteer work.

"Some of the volunteer work will be with the hospital, some in schools, some with the Ministry of Environment, some with farm-to-food programs and those type of areas."

But before the students arrive, Clatworthy and Masset-local Raven Ann Potschka are looking for more families to host one Canadian youth and one Indonesian youth for the duration of their stay.

"There is definitely a lot of interest, but right now we have five confirmed families so we need five more ... the program starts in early October, so this needs to be sorted out before the. The sooner we can confirm host families the better," said Clatworthy on Sept. 13, noting host parents receive the support of program supervisors and $720 per month to help with expenses.

"This 'Youth Leaders in Action Program'; the first of it kind in the west of Canada, will give our community a place on the map for renowned involvement with international youth initiatives. Lets make this the best host community experience for the 18 youth volunteers and be proud to step-up for the challenges facing our global community," added Potschka.

Anyone with a spare room who is able to host youth from the program can contact Yolanda or Raven. Raven can be reached at 778-867-3464, and Yolanda at 250-626-7301 or by email at yclatworthy@cwy-jcm.org.