Mar 10 - Young Canadians returning from Uganda will have positive impact on Canada

A group of young Canadians returning from Uganda to Metro Vancouver next week will have a positive impact on Canada for decades to come, says the coordinator of a project that sent them to work at hospitals, libraries and other institutions in the African nation.

In October, 15 Canadians aged 30 and under embarked on a five-month paid internship funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), part of the ongoing Uganda Project at Douglas College. Douglas partnered with both CIDA and the country of Uganda to make the project a reality.

The participants arrive in Vancouver Monday, March 14, and will be at the New Westminster Campus of Douglas College Wednesday, March 16.

Participants worked in maternal and child health care, HIV-AIDS outreach, community village libraries and mental health and other hospital-based programs. The people they worked with included schoolchildren and adults on literacy projects, street children, pregnant teen mothers and children who have been abused.

John Fox, an instructor from Douglas College's Community Social Service Worker Program and Coordinator of the Uganda Project, says participants' experience in Africa will contribute to an enhanced world view and commitment to global improvement and equality, which will impact these young people in their personal and professional lives.

"Experience has taught us that employers are not only looking for specific skills and knowledge - which are most often taught at Canadian universities and colleges - but also seeking employees with significant commitment to the communities they serve.

"Public and personal responsibility cannot be taught, and experiences such as these will contribute significantly to both. We all benefit."

John Halani, Uganda's Honorary Consul to British Columbia, says the experience will broaden the perspectives of both the participants and the Ugandans they served.

"Both sides benefit. The communities benefit from experiencing the western way of dealing with issues; the participants benefit because their eyes are opened to life in the Third World. Here we take for granted what we have, whereas the people in Uganda struggle for every little thing."

Douglas College has a strong foundation of experience in Uganda. Since 2006, more than two dozen students from the Community Social Service Worker Program, and more recently from the Co-Occurring Disorders, Early Childhood Education, and Dental Assisting programs, have travelled to Uganda for 10-week field learning practicum placements with various agencies as part of their education.

The College also has other long-term commitments to Uganda. In 2006 it established the Uganda Endowment Fund to provide funding for social service agencies in Uganda with a focus on inspiring children, strengthening families and building community resources.