Virtual pen pals
The project aims to eliminate prejudice by embracing diversity and this has long been a passion for Westland-eby who has been guiding the CABMN Youth Centre staff as well as the organizers and students in Colombia.
In February, the CABMN Youth Leadership group sent off a package filled with exciting items to their new friends in Colombia. The package contained crafting supplies and the group presented a challenge to the 5th graders in Colombia to create a sticker which equally represents the cultures of Canada and Columbia. With the entries complete, the two groups will exchange their creations online and pick a winner for the opposite country and the winner will receive an awesome prize! With the sticker winners selected, the two finalists’ designs will be made into actual stickers to sell as a fundraiser to further the project.
“A basic concept, until we realized that Colombia is nearly 5,000 kilometers away,” said Youth Centre Coordinator, Ethan Ball. “We didn’t factor in that the group only speaks Spanish and that the school operates on a completely different education schedule, with our school breaks and theirs being different,” he added.
Overcoming these obstacles has become a big part of the project and adds to the joyous triumphs when things work out. With support from the local Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) group also operated by the CABMN, the younger Leadership group was able to get SADD to sponsor the cost of mailing the package; a whopping $200 dollars plus endeavour!
A few months ago, the Youth Centre hired a new animator, Tess Coll Hostyn and as if fate was shining brightly, it just so happens that Tess is fluent in Spanish! Through Tess’s guidance and encouragement, the youth have gained a lot of basic understanding of the Spanish language over the past few months. Tess has been determined to see this project succeed.
After mailing the package on Feb. 8, the youth have eagerly been waiting to hear that their gift arrived at its destination. Almost two months later, this week they got the news they had been waiting for. The package arrived in Colombia! The Mansonville group received a photo and a wonderful video of the teacher presenting the gift to the students. The Mansonville youth celebrated by playing a few rounds of Bingo calling the number in Spanish and enjoying a delicious donut as a treat for a job well done.
Both groups are looking forward to continuing the exchange and making the most of their time with their new friends.
For Joan Westland-eby this likely is a heartwarming venture and the staff at the CABMN Youth Centre are so appreciative to Joan for initiating such a wonderful learning and “feeling” experience for the youth.