Missive #1: Graduation and beyond!

Monday, June 28th, 2009

Hello everyone!

As you have probably heard, I have recently been accepted for a Canada World Youth (CWY) exchange between Ontario and Tanzania. The program will consist of full-time environmental volunteer work with a group of 18 youth and two adult supervisors - half from Tanzania, half from all across Canada. I will be paired with a Tanzanian counterpart with whom I’ll be living, and together we’ll be staying with a host family in a community in both Peterborough, Ontario, and in a village in Tanzania. My preparations are already underway, including sorting out travel documents, studying Swahili (the primary language of my exchange country), and engaging in an intensive campaign to raise $2500 for CWY. So far I have been blown away by the friendship, generosity and enthusiasm that so many of my friends and family have offered, and with their much appreciated help I have already come to about 70% of my goal within less than one month! I have raised a great deal of funds selling hand-made books, so Bill and Maureen’s suite where I am staying has been converted into a bindery of sorts. Many tireless hours have been spent stooped over stacks of paper to be cut, folded, pierced, sewn, covered, wrapped, and pressed. What I had been expecting to be the hard part, though – selling the books – hasn’t actually been so bad. Already this has been and immensely educational experience which will be especially valuable if I ever end up doing anything like this as a business.
So, many of you have been wondering how and why I came to be involved in Canada World Youth. I’ve been wondering that a bit myself, but I’ll explain to the best of my discernment. My interest in international volunteer aid organizations was first sparked in the South Pacific where I saw volunteers with such organizations as the Peace Corps working, especially in Vanuatu. Having been disgusted by many of the examples of - often pointless, sometimes harmful - “aid”, I was pleased to see that there were organizations which actually intermingled with the local society and worked for them and in accordance with them. Upon returning to Canada I went looking for a similar Canadian organization in which I might be able to participate, and I didn’t have to look far! My family’s one-time acquaintances, now good friends, Bill and Maureen have a son named Dylan who was away in Kenya on a CWY exchange when we returned from our trip. His experience seemed a good one, and he introduced CWY to me. After my family moved to Ottawa for Mom’s work, I began staying with Bill and Maureen. Last Fall we acted as host family to a pair of CWY participants, Melissa and Yulia, in a Victoria/Ukraine volunteer exchange, so I gained some experience of life in the CWY. Finding what I had seen to be important and meaningful, I applied for the program. However, it didn’t remain at the fore of my plans and was washed away by school and prospects of college/university. Thus I was surprised one morning to check my e-mail and find that I had been accepted. I hummed and hawed over it for a couple of days, then decided to accept and haven’t looked back since!
Apart from my preparation work for Canada World Youth, I am also just finishing my grade 12 schooling through SIDES (the South Island Distance Education School) with whom I have been studying since we returned from our trip in 2005. I’ve also been playing in the last of the school year’s Strings program, which I attend at Esquimalt High School. At the Strings Finale concert I was given a commemorative music folder. Grumpa and Nana attended our “Bach to the Beach” picnic/concert at Willows Beach, and I had the opportunity to visit with them and George Wood while they were in town. Allison (my girlfriend) invited me to the Esq. High grad dinner and dance at the Empress Hotel, so I got the experience of a genuine graduation celebration despite being home-schooled! We sat at a table with two of Allison’s friends and their boyfriends, one of whom had been my best friend in grade 3 and who I had not seen in ten years, or had contact with for at least seven… Weird synchronicities are everywhere!
My own graduation ceremony was on the 24th, and although my parents could not make it I was by no means alone: my Gran, Uncle John, Aunty Mary, Carter, Allison, Bill and Maureen all came, some of my closest family and friends. Despite a bit of adventure getting to the ceremony, involving my mixing up of the names of Cadboro and Cordova Bay, it was a great experience to see some of the amazing, diverse students who were graduating through SIDES. The teachers and everyone at SIDES deserve my deepest thanks for guiding me cheerfully, thoughtfully, and wisely through the quagmires of high school, for allowing me the ability to catch up for much lost school time during my travels, and for giving me an option outside of the physical school system. You are all amazing!
As for the rest of the family, they’re doing well in Ottawa. Harry’s enjoying scouts and baseball, and has a website called http://kiwibirds.webs.com/. Dad has his studio in working order and is creating art once again, which can be seen on his new blog http://clementsgallery.blogspot.com/. Mom is working in Citizenship Case Management in Ottawa, and has been on a work exchange to Trinidad. She has been offered another to Siri Lanka, but she has had to turn it down because the three of them will be traveling here to BC in August. Uncle John was in Vancouver General Hospital for surgery on his fractured neck, which went much better than anticipated. He is recovering rapidly and we are thankful for the many prayers that he has received! Silent Sound (yes, I still regard her as part of the family, even though she now has a new owner) is off for a new media-covered adventure over the Northwest Passage this summer, captained by her new owner Cameron Dueck. Their voyage can be traced on Cameron’s website, http://www.openpassageexpedition.com/index.html, where you can find information, live tracking, pictures, the latest up-dates of the expedition, and more.
So that’s the news up to now! Bill and Maureen left for China this morning where they will be traveling and visiting with Dylan who is there studying Mandarin at Shanghai University. I’ll be staying here in Victoria looking after the house and continuing with my fundraising and other preparations for my trip. There will be a funshoot at the Victoria Bowmen archery range on July 11th from 10:30 am till noon, by donation ($5 - $15 suggested) in support of CWY and my exchange. Everyone is welcome regardless of age, membership, and skill. There will be coaches to introduce you to the sport if you are new to it. Also, on each Friday in July, from 2 – 3:30 pm, I will be hosting a fun music session at Bill and Maureen’s place for the young and young at heart. All are welcome, regardless of age and experience (young children should be supervised) with a donation of $5 or more which shall go towards CWY. If you’re in the Victoria area and are interested in either of these events, just let me know and I’ll get you the details.
I will be trying to keep you in the loop with Missives such as this one roughly every month. I will also be posting these Missives, as well as photos and other updates on my blog, http://bradleyclements.blogspot.com/. My e-mail address is svsilentsound[at]gmail[dot]com, and my mailing address (until the end of August) is 1225, Carlisle Ave., Victoria, B.C., V9A 5C7. I’d love to hear from you! Also, I am still working to raise the $750 remaining before the end of July, so please let me know if you would care to contribute to CWY. I am gratefully accepting donations: a tax-receipt and a personal postcard from Tanzania will be sent to everyone who contributes $20 or more. The books are still on sale, between $10 and $35 – they make great gifts, journals, sketch-books, note-books, etc. Thanks for your support!
Your friend,


Bradley Clements

CWY Ontario/Tanzania Volunteer
Victoria, Canada