Dispatch from Africa

Friday, 7 May, 2010

AAY-Ghana May 2010

The YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka’s Tom Coon and nine other volunteer and staff leaders are returning to Canada today after a week in Ghana. Tom, who is also the chair of YMCA Canada’s international workgroup, sent this report:

So many resources, so few resources … Africa is such a continent of contrasts. Rich in people and spirit, poor in finances and infrastructure. How do you help close the gap through the YMCA family working together? That is what 125 participants (40 of them young people) from African YMCAs and their partner YMCAs from around the world are talking about this week in Accra, Ghana.

The theme of the conference organized by the African Alliance of YMCAs is “Empowering Young People for the African Renaissance.” We were welcomed by Dr. E.L.K. Osafo, National Chairman of the Ghana YMCA who said “partnership is when each knows how to celebrate each other’s differences and similarities and works for completeness and success in each other”. Canada’s representative on the World Alliance of YMCAs Executive Committee, Sandy McIntyre, gave a response on behalf of all international partners indicating our challenge is “how to be relevant locally while working together as a movement with unity of purpose to be successful globally”.

The complexity of how to make change and improvements in Africa when faced with sporadic electricity, having to buy bottled water because it is unsafe to drink rather than being the fashionable thing to do, trying to get around the city or the country when the roads are half finished or washed out by rain, hoping you can feed your family when the average wage is $2 USD per day (or less in some countries!), is daunting to say the least, and sometimes unfathomable to comprehend, when so many of these things we take for granted.

But here are we 10 Canadians (Colin Reid – Kamloops, Patricia Pelton – YMCA Canada, John Haddock and Shawna Frede – Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge, Steve Butz – Niagara, Penny Pattinson – Toronto, Sandy McIntyre – YMCA Canada, John Schmitt – Sudbury, Mary Anne Roche – YMCA Canada, and myself – Simcoe/Muskoka), all partners with African YMCAs (Ethiopia, Zambia, South Africa, Ghana, Senegal, Sudan, Sierra Leone, African Alliance of YMCAs), thousands of miles from home, connecting with others, all part of the great YMCA family, around a common purpose – how to improve the lives of others and build community. And working out together how we share our resources (time, talent, treasure, and trust) both ways in these unique and rich partnerships.

Topics ranged from membership development to resource mobilization, programme development and effectiveness, financial planning, leadership, human resources, governance, and communications. Woven through the discussions were the threads of “what can the International Partners and the African Alliance of YMCAs do to support national movements and local Associations becoming stronger and more effective?”

A touching moment was had on our last evening with a special recognition normally reserved for royalty for Penny Pattinson, General Manager of Newcomer Programs and International Development at the YMCA of Greater Toronto. Penny is retiring soon and this was her last official trip to Africa. It was obvious from the accolades from both the Ghana YMCA and the African Alliance that Penny has had significant impact on the YMCA in Africa and on the lives and development of many staff and volunteers.

It is humbling to see the high regard and fondness in which many African YMCAs hold their Canadian partners, and it bodes well for our future relations and potential for capacity building and strengthening the YMCA movement.

From out of Africa,

Tom Coon

“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” - Maya Angelou

Thanks to Tom and the rest of the Canadian delegation for their work on our behalf this week. From July 19 – 24th, a larger group of Canadians will travel to Hong Kong for the quadrennial World Council of YMCAs meeting. Mark it in your calendars. The delegation will be blogging daily. We hope you’ll come along with us in this way.

Tell us about how an international experience or partnership has changed something or changed the way you think about it.

Scott

PS: Have you been following the terrific series that the Globe and Mail (edited by Bono and Bob Geldof) has been running since May 10th about the African renaissance? The article on African young people by Ken Wiwa was particularly interesting given the African Alliance of YMCAs’ priorities. What do you think?

Tags: Cambridge/Kitchener/Waterloo, capacity, collaboration, global partners, impact, international, Kamloops, National Board, Niagara, Simcoe Muskoka, Sudbury, Toronto, training and development

John Lilley

That’s work well done: inspiring the African YMCAs to achieve greater capacity! It’s all about ACTION on the ground and there are so many opportunities to help in the developing world.

It’s my feeling that everybody within the first world and especially every professional (physicians, nurses, lawyers, teachers, business administrators, and every other ….) should plan as part of their career to work three months out of five years in the developing world.

That effort by every individual would have such an impact!

For 11 consecutive medical missions, I’ve watched young adults who are early in their training have LIFE-ALTERING experiences each year in Ecuador. These Canadian kids have NEVER seen poverty or limited access to health care before.

They experience the generous, open hearts of very poor people who are extraordinarily grateful for what our Canadian medical team can do for them. They gain so much insight from their experience; their horizons expand beyond their local community in Canada and their personal aspirations for life and career to encompass a more global and worldly view of what they as individuals can do to help others around the world.

This change in attitude is more important in today’s Canadian culture than every before! Canadians are tending to be more self-centered. The overseas experience can break that mindset and provoke change for the better in the minds of young Canadians.

The YMCA Movement is a wonderful vehicle to enable students the opportunity to have “Life-Altering” experiences while they help in the developing world.

Thanks to Tom Coon and Mary Anne and their committee, including Patricia and Sandy, for their efforts!
http://ymcanothbay.com Kim Kanmacher

Congratulations to Tom and the Canadian delegation!

An international experience does change your life in ways you don’t expect. The people I have had the opportunity to meet are in many cases the true “heros”. They are extremely dedicated, work under extreme conditions and never lose faith. They happily sacrifice themseves everyday to make it happen for others. We certainly have the easy part and it was important for me to learn from these many “heros”. The dedication and never-ending hard work is what makes it happen…something I will never take for granted!
Scott Haldane

Thanks for sharing the impact that an international experience has had on both of you, Kim and John. You are right about the developmental effect that this can have on our young people. I am very excited about conversations that are taking place around the world related to how the Canadian YMCA can contribute even more to leadership development and building a philanthropic culture througout the YMCA world. Very exciting opportunities for young (and young in spirit!) as we move into the future.

Scott
Christopher Craig

Congratulations to everyone involved in this wonderful project!

Years ago I had the opportunity to join a number of colleagues from the YMCA in Montreal on an incredible youth exchange program that changed my life. As a young YMCA staff I was studying Anthropology and interested in International Programs. My intention was to provide an opportunity to show our young group the reality and way of life of another group of youth in conditions radically different than our own, in the hopes that this would encourage careful criticism and a re-evaluation of our everyday practices. Perhaps they would learn to become more considerate consumers.

As the program rolled out, we actually exchanged young people between two buroughs in Montreal – Westmount and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. The socio-cultural and socio-economic differences were vast and led to valuable learnings. When we travelled as a group to Cobourg, Ontario, we continued our learning. By the completion of this exchange program, which involved travelling to work in various YMCA/ACJs in Nicaragua and further hosting Nicaraguan youth in Canada, I realized that his truly had been a life-changing experience for not only the young participants, but also for myself.

I have been involved in YMCA Youth Exchanges Canada in the years since this exchange, and I am repeatedly convinced of the powerful pedagogical impact of travel. Opportunities for travel should be made available to as many individuals as possible. The opportunities for learning and reflection are vast even when young people are engaged in domestic travel. Think globally, travel locally!

Chris
http://www.ymca.ca Scott Haldane

Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience, Chris. You know, my very first job (1977) with the YMCA of Greater Montreal was to organize a youth exchange between Montreal’s West Island and Pangnirtung, Nunavut (formerly Northwest Territories) with the support of Visions Canada, the forerunner to YMCA Youth Exchanges Canada.

Scott

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