Dear Readers,
The day has come and passed. The Colombian youth have gone back home. It’s a bittersweet end as we developed good relationships with one another and became friends, but they had to return. Hopefully, one day Hannah and I will be able to travel to Colombia to visit them because they have definitely left an impression on our lives and in our hearts.
Looking back at the last 5 weeks, it is easy to see that this experience has benefited everyone involved. The youth were able to experience Toronto like Torontonians do everyday – walking into pop-up festivals, trying different food, site-seeing and even going to Wonderland and challenging the Leviathan! There was no shortage of activities. And us, everyone involved in the YGTA exchange, we were given the opportunity to be inspired by these wonderful people and learn that they are not so different from ourselves.
At the Youth Summit hosted by Central YMCA, the Colombians had a chance to interact with Toronto youth and learn about the things they are doing in city. They also took part in a scavenger hunt at the University of Toronto and the Toronto youth had a chance to learn a lot about Colombia and compare their two countries. The impact the youth have had has been immense.
In our last weeks together, we learned of what a strong passion for social programs the YMCA of Medellin has. It is run almost completely by volunteers who are all creatively inclined and people are able to see the direct difference their programs make in the community. It won’t be long before we hear about the difference our exchange participants are making in Medellin, especially in the employment and housing sectors. We were told that at present, these types of social programs do not exist. It shouldn’t be long before that changes!
Although we are sad that they had to go back home, the program has been an incredible success. It is a new beginning.
-Mardi
