Strathmore Youth will soon be off on exchange program

Andrea Roberts
Times Contributor

 

Almost every year for the past 26 years the Strathmore Lions Club has participated in the Lions Club Exchange program. This year three Grade 10-12 Strathmore students will be part of the exchange.
The International Lions Club runs the Youth exchange. The aim is to allow youths to be introduced to the culture of their host families. The aim is not for tourism but rather to learn how others live. The host families will show them around, introduce them to new things and take care of them.
The teens will spend about a week in a youth camp with others their age, as well as about two weeks with their host family.
“It was totally eye opening and humbling. You get to see how great Canada is,” said Shyla Kopp, who went to Belgium last year and will be going to the Netherlands this year.
“I love meeting new people and I now have friends from all over the world.”
There are 150 countries to which youth can go. The Strathmore Lions Club usually provides about $1,500 per student as well as the $375 registration cost. The rest of the money will have to raised by the students. Two of the three youths going will have the financial backing from the club but Shyla will have to finance herself as she went last year.
In the 26 years that the Strathmore Lions have been partaking in the program there have only been two years that they didn’t send anyone. One of those years was because of the 9/11 attacks, when the International club felt that the exchange would be better off cancelled that year.
As it is an exchange there will be 19 youths coming to this Lion club district, which consists of 55 Lions clubs. The youth will be coming from countries such as Austria, Brazil, Mongolia and Israel. Eight host families are still needed for this district.