Jennifer interviews two Somali students at a refugee camp. Location - Dadaab, Kenya

I felt a calling to Africa. I know that sounds a bit hokey, but there was an awakening.

While working at MuchMusic as a VJ and videographer, I had the opportunity to cover the tsunami disaster in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. The destruction left by the killer waves was unbelievable to see with my own eyes.

A few weeks later, I shared my footage and experiences with students at a model United Nations conference in Monterrey, Mexico. During the Q’s and A’s, a student asked, “What about Africa?” This got me thinking, especially as a journalist. Why is a natural disaster so captivating while African poverty, disease, politics have become the norm?

Africa is a fascinating place for many reasons. From wildlife to culture, history to geography, the continent has so much to offer. While Africa is often referred to in a homogenous manner, it is home to over fifty independent countries with over 2,000 languages! But what attracted me most to Africa were the global issues—specifically, poverty and HIV/AIDS.

I decided I wanted to travel, so I approached CARE Canada with a youth-engagement project idea and an offer to volunteer. I had never heard of CARE until I was assigned to host a documentary in Afghanistan for MuchMusic. A lot of people aren’t familiar with CARE as they don’t spend much on marketing and branding (the money is needed in the field). CARE is an international aid and humanitarian organization in over seventy countries. Together, we have created YouthCARE, the youth movement within CARE Canada. It was launched in May 2006 with a high school tour, and will evolve into youth-run initiatives across the country.

I travelled to Eastern Africa in January 2006 on my own, and met up with CARE in Kenya. I spent a few weeks with the organization, and visited various projects across the country. Equipped with a video camera and lots of questions, I documented the stories of Kenyan youth facing various challenges including urban poverty, violence against women, HIV/AIDS, and life in a refugee camp.

While beautiful and enriching, Kenya can also be depressing and frustrating. It was great working with CARE staff because the team is made up of Kenyans, and they have earned the respect of the communities they work in. I ran into most of my challenges while on my own, which included culture shock and what I call the mzungu factor. It’s a Swahili term for white person, and as a mzungu, you stand out and attract a lot of attention, resulting in people staring, pointing, and sometimes even screaming at you. It would be unfair to describe the behaviour as racist, because it’s usually friendly and is a result of white privilege: being white and Western represents money and goodwill, so a lot of people want to be around you—some out of interest, some with a plea for help. I felt very uncomfortable with the extra and special attention.

Another reality that was hard to accept is that “saving the world” isn’t easy. These issues are complex and are a result of many factors, from history to culture to abuse of power.

I met so many inspiring people in Kenya. While the country is poor, it is rich in many ways. There is a great Swahili proverb: Mkosefu wa mali si maskini. Translation: “Lacking money is not necessarily the same as being poor.”

Jennifer and Rose

Kenya is rich with incredible youth, and I was fortunate to spend time with some of them, like Rose, an HIV-positive 17-year-old student living in the slums of Nairobi. Despite this, she has a beautiful smile and dreams of becoming a pilot. Rose’s mom hopes that her daughter will become an HIV/AIDS activist. That’s what Boniface does in western Kenya. He’s an HIV-positive 21-year-old man who is an agent of change in his community, tackling stigma and raising awareness in his area. Kaho, an 18-year-old, is an outspoken Somali student at a refugee camp in eastern Kenya. Despite the fact she has spent most of her life in the camp, she wants to become a doctor to help people.

After my time in Kenya with CARE, I visited neighbouring countries with the help of a Lonely Planet guide. What an adventure! I went bungee jumping over the source of the Nile River in Uganda, gorilla trekking in Rwanda, and was hit by a truck in Zanzibar (I ended up with only a few scrapes, thank God!).

When I returned home to Canada, I edited together my footage from Kenya and visited secondary schools in Toronto, Niagara, Ottawa, Montréal, Edmonton, and Calgary. It felt great to see Canadian youth connect with the videos. The students I met were smart and savvy, and told me they want to get involved. They’re just not sure where to start.

We have so much here in Canada, yet we focus on what we don’t have. That’s the trap of our own culture, driven by consumerism. One student in Ottawa pointed out how most Canadian teens can’t deal with losing a cell phone, never mind living with HIV. Canadian youth have so many opportunities to reach out and connect with their peers in the developing world. Be it through travelling, fundraising, or even online, youth can take action and get involved with global and social issues.

Take some time and find out more about international affairs. Then talk about it. Ask your friends and family what they think about issues like global poverty, HIV/AIDS, and war. Think about what skills you have and how you can connect them to a cause you care about it. For me, it was a multimedia high school tour. For someone else, it could be a talent show or an after-school club.

The world is yours. Make it the place you want to live in.

Links:

YouthCARE
MySpace