Helping Others in Guyana

Who: Sara Walde
Age: 19
What: Helping Others in Guyana

Sara Walde is taking a trip to Guyana to lend a helping hand in dealing with issues of AIDS and Gender Equality. She is going there to figure out what she wants to do and decide how she is going to make her mark on the world and how she will make the world a better place. This article is from The Cochrane Times.


CHS grad looks to make a difference
19-year-old U of C student looks to community for support as she prepares for Guyana trip

by Reagen Sulewski
Wednesday March 12, 2008


A young Cochrane resident is appealing to the community for help to allow her to help others around the world.

Sara Walde, a 19-year-old business student at the University of Calgary and a Cochrane High graduate, was recently accepted into the Youth Challenge International program, an organization that sends teams of Canadian youth to help with hands-on community projects in developing countries.

Walde discovered the program when she was looking for options to study abroad, and decided that this would be a good way to expand her horizons.

"I was thinking about North America and the world we live in. I'm kind of in a bubble and not exposed to much. It's a pretty cushy world, I want to expand to something different," she said.

Although the details are still to be worked out, her project will take place this June in Guyana, a country on the north coast of South America, and will deal with the issues of AIDS and gender equality.

Although she said the AIDS aspect of the trip seems "a bit abstract" to her, as it's not something she's been affected by, the gender equality issue is something that hits closer to home.

"That'll be the hardest thing for me to swallow, seeing the inequality and trying to do something about it," she said.


Walde expects there to be a lot of culture shock when she gets there.

"I know I'm just going to be absolutely shocked, so I'm trying not to have any expectations," she said.

One of the big attractions about the program for her was the team aspect, and that fact that she will be working with youth, for youth.

"You're going with people your own age, with people with similar goals," she said.

Projects are open to people aged 18 to 30 and run for five to 10 weeks. Her group will be made up of approximately 30 people.

Walde is hoping to raise $6,000 for the trip, to cover the program cost of $3,600, as well as airfare, medical expenses and first aid training.

In addition to canvassing local businesses for donations, she is also organizing a benefit concert, which will be held at Frank Willis Memorial Hall on March 22 at 7 p.m.

Three bands are scheduled for the show -- Calgary's Matt Blais Connection, and two bands from Cochrane, Walking Backward and Sing City Lights.

Matt Blais Connection was a recent second place finisher in Calgary's Battle of the Bands. Tickets will cost $10 each and proceeds will go towards funding her trip.

Donations can also be made at www.yci.org.

Walde said that beyond helping people, the goal of her trip is learn more about herself and decide what she wants to do with her life.

"I'm trying to figure out how to make my mark on the world and make the world a better place, as cheesy as that sounds," she said.