Testimony of Our First Aboriginal Volunteer

"Ever since I was a young girl, I had the yearning to travel the world. As I grew, it seemed impossible, coming from a small reserve where no one travels anywhere. I live in a community of families living on low income wages or settling on small welfare cheques once a month. Sometimes the stresses of everyday life within a reserve tend to crush dreams.

I attended a personal development program in February 2008 where I started to re-create the vision I had for my life. My dream of travelling re-awoke and, because the universe conspires in our favor, everything started pulling together. Tom Affleck, founder of SchoolBox, asked our large group if we were interested in going to Nicaragua in June to build a school. I took this as a sign and decided right away to jump on board.

I remember when I was in high school I saw a poster in the entrance of our band office for an opportunity to travel to South America- all I had to do was submit an application and fundraise $2000. At the time I thought $2000 was a lot of money and quickly dropped the idea.

I now had four months to budget and save for my trip to Nicaragua. Instead of saving money on my own, I decided it would be a great if the youth in my community saw me raising money. I wanted to show them they can achieve their dreams and goals and that money doesn’t have to stand in their way. I began raising funds by having Pay Day Lunches at our band office and Yard Sales on weekends. Native model, Shannon Baker, made a website for people to donate to my trip.

I had no idea what to expect when I got to Nicaragua. The itinerary Tom had sent us said we were going to visit the School in the Managua City Dump. I thought for sure he had made a typo, I could not imagine a school in a dump!

When we arrived, it was heart breaking to see kids, the same age as my son, living in such conditions. They were digging through the mountains of garbage for food or any materials they could salvage. The people that lived in the dump made their homes out of scrap metal and wood. The children ran around in the garbage- playing without shoes on their tiny feet. I experienced poverty in Managua very differently than I did living on a reserve.

When my volunteer group continued to Ometepe Island to begin construction on the school, I felt as if I was in the Garden of Eden. Everything was green and fruit was hanging off the branches of the trees. My group of friends and I stayed at a small resort called Charco Verde. The servers became great friends of mine because they had similarities of my friends and family back home. Even though there was a language barrier that stood between us and the children and the people, we managed to communicate with our hands and our hearts. I showed my new friends at Charco Verde, with great pride, a book on West Coast Native Art.

The people of Ometepe welcomed us with a fiesta, the mayor came to greet us, and the children showed us their contemporary and traditional dances. They sang their national anthem and when we sang our Canadian anthem I had an overwhelming feeling of pride for my Country and my people that I have never felt before. It was the day of the fiesta that I wanted to share my culture and who I am as a Wet’suwet’en, with the people of Ometepe Island.

When I came home to British Columbia, I saw places and people differently- I realized that I was living in abundance. I am extremely grateful to have witnessed how another part of the world lives. Through learning about another culture, I believe we build a stronger understanding of the world around us and our own identity. I am so excited for other Aboriginal Youth to participate in this program- to learn about their heritage and share it with another culture and in their own community.

I am learning and experiencing more of my culture every day. The Wet’suwet’en language and culture is dying every time an elder goes home. I want to teach my son, and the youth in my community all that I have learnt. I have found that I am learning faster through teaching the Wet’suwet’en language and culture."

 Danielle Ogen, Wet'suwet'en, Burns Lake, British Columbia

 

For additional information on this program, click on the following links:

My Trip | Why Me? | I'm Ready?