Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Northern Youth Abroad is a Canadian and international program marking their 15th anniversary this year. I would like to acknowledge that more than 70 Northwest Territories youth were participating, representing nearly every community.
Northern Youth Abroad gives young people ages 15 to 22 the opportunity to live and work in communities across southern Canada and sub-Saharan Africa while they gain high school credits, work experience and life skills.
Designed especially for youth in isolated communities across the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Northern Youth Abroad has viable objectives such as building cross-cultural awareness by living with a host family and doing meaningful volunteer work. Other objectives include encouraging youth to take responsibility for their own learning, to graduate from high school, to find ways to make a difference back home based on their experiences, and become participants in their global society. Finally, Northern Youth Abroad seeks to build a self-confidence and life skills essential for youth to successfully pursue post-secondary education outside of their home communities and avoid the pitfalls many young Northerners fall into when they move to cities in southern provinces.
Here are just some of the positive impacts Northern Youth Abroad have had over the last 15 years:
better than average Canadian high school graduation rates in regions that have the lowest graduation rates in the country;
a bridging program for youth at risk;
exchange between youth between different northern communities;
fostering the strong sense of volunteerism in northern communities;
strengthened community and cultural awareness and our connectedness to the rest of the North, the rest of Canada and the world;
motivation building, esteem raising and leadership development.
I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate Jamie Norwegian, Jodie Bonnetrouge and Waylon Simba for successfully completing the 2011 Canadian program, and Marina Sabourin who was selected to be the first ever group-leader-in-training and assisted with one of the groups in Botswana in the summer of 2011.
Northern Youth Abroad is a registered charity and receives funding through Municipal and Community Affairs youth core funding. This year 25 applicants from the Northwest Territories have been selected to participate.
With that, I recognize the Deh Cho students Grayson Somers and Joey Lacorne.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
With that, I want to recognize the Deh Cho students Grayson Somers and Joey Lacorne for being selected to the Canadian program, and Jeremy Landry for being selected for the international program.
Thank you to the Government of the Northwest Territories for its ongoing support for Northern Youth Abroad and becoming one of its 2011-2012 funding partners. Mahsi cho.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
