Tamed Raven: Katimavik: For young lovers of travel and making a difference.

Stanley Park, Vancouver BC

My first time visiting Ottawa, hugging the giant spider statue.

I know I've mentioned a few times about how I participated in a program called Katimavik, but I wanted to tell you guys a bit more about it since I really think its a great program.

Its a 9 month long program where you travel in a group of ~10 across Canada, living in 2 english areas and 1 french area for approx 3 months each. While you are there, you do 35-40 hours volunteer work for non profit organizations, and evenings/weekends are spend doing group things and other volunteer stuff (we did everything from dancing, to glass bead making, helping with a tattoo/body mod art show, to working at an organic farm for a day..). The groups are made up from youth (17-21) from across Canada, divided up between provinces. (For example, only one Maritimer in each group, then we had 4 from Qc, a couple from On, etc, etc).

When I did it, it didn't cost anything to do except $20 to insure your stuff and for a couple pre-voyage things, and all your travelling, food and lodging is paid for, plus you get a couple dollars a day (it used to be $3, now I believe its $5). It isn't much, but it's enough to get you a couple drinks on the weekend, or what have you.

Getting ready for a halloween parade, where we did thriller through the streets.

When I participated I lived in Carleton Place, On; Shawinigan, Qc; and Kamloops, BC. I worked in a thrift store which raised money for a womens shelter, a historical museum, a Salvation Army foodbank & thrift store, and a centre for elderly/persons with multiple medical conditions.

You also get to plan weekend trips with your budget, so we got to travel to Ottawa, On; Montreal and Quebec City, Qc; and Victoria and Vancouver, BC, visiting museums, historical sites, going to interesting restaurants, hikes, with free time to do things like shopping and checking out local clubs.

Second language plays a big part in this program, so while you're in the area of your second language, you get tutoring to help you get by. Doing this program made me realize how much I loved the french language and I eventually went to university for it and it was one of the best decisions I made for myself.

And if you think 'hey, all I'm getting out of this is $3 ($5?) a day? Screw that..' You get so much more than that. Friends I'm still in contact with 5 years later, an amazing volunteer section on my resume, so many stories and learning experiences (hey, remember that time we took raw fish camping in BC and saw that bear? Or that time we got locked inside the bank? Or that time we thought it'd be cool to go door to door with cookies to give to our neighbours and kept having half naked people open the doors?) and if you complete the program, you get a $1000 bursary. Which is pretty sweet, but honestly didn't feel as good as knowing I was one of the people that didn't quit, didn't give up, even when things got hard and the snow was as high as the house and you couldn't see out the windows and I wanted to punch all my housemates..

Yes, there's some rules, and a project leader in each city to enforce them (you can get warnings, and can get kicked out, but it takes a lot), its a house full of sneaky young adults and you learn ways to get away with things. There are also 2 groups in your general area (1-2 hours away) that you make visits with on a semi frequently basis.