Voices International - September 2005

• Knowledgeable and innovative leadership workshops based on the Take Action! and Take More Action curriculum.
• Amazing guests speaking about globalization, war-affected children, the environment, and issues related to water and sanitation.
• Awesome action planning sessions, in which youth brainstormed amazing ideas for social action that they'll put into motion on their return home, including taking part in the Adopt a Village, Halloween for Hunger, and Vow of Silence campaigns.
• A Toronto-wide scavenger hunt featuring amazing sites, culture jamming, and tons of laughs!
• The Celebrate the Decades dance party, complete with crazy costumes and a huge standing ovation for the 10 year anniversary of Free The Children.

This year's tour has a powerful message - one that has existed for generations. A message that is all about how to be the change you wish to see in the world. It's specifically geared to awaken individuals to the reality of the global inequalities in our world and to get students to realize just how much power they have to change these - if they choose to.

We'll be using all of our energy and passion to communicate this message with music, jaw-dropping facts, stories of real people and best of all, truth. I'll be continuing on as the speaker and leadership facilitator for this year, and Bartek Kosinski will also be joining us to add his musical talents and chill vibe to our days.

If you'd like more information, please feel free to drop us a line at speakers@leaderstoday.com or call us at 1.416.925.5894 ext. 118. If you know of a teacher who might be interested, give them this email address or our phone number, and we'd be more than happy to answer any questions they may have.

Talk to you soon,

Louise Kent. Leadership Coordinator

Among the many powerful trip experiences, two stand out in my mind. The first was when we attended a prayer vigil commemorating those who have died in the desert in their attempt to cross the border to the United States. And the second was helping to set up the "Ark of the Covenant" camp, which is designed to provide water, food, basic medical care, and shelter to migrants making the treacherous journey across the desert.

Back in Arizona we were able to decompress from our time in Mexico. Many emotions were aroused through our experiences and we were given a chance to discuss our thoughts and ideas. Between leadership workshops, teambuilding activities, and storytelling, we were graciously accommodated and greeted with unending hospitality by the remarkable, intelligent, and culinarily gifted proprietor of Arizona Wind-Song, Virginia Benderly.

We boarded our planes back to our respective homes armed with friendships, memories, knowledge, and action plans, ready to spread word of our experiences, keep alive the spirit of Level 3, and change the world!

One of my first thoughts upon arrival in Kolkata, India was: "Any Canadian would think that this place is madness." And it was, by comparison. Everything from the traffic, to the "toilets", to common courtesy, was pretty much the opposite of how it was in my home city of Toronto.

During my stay in India, I volunteered at Mother Teresa's home for severely handicapped children and orphans, ShiShu Bhavan. In all honesty, after the first time I visited the center, I didn't want to go back. I guess it was the feeling of helplessness that I first felt when I stepped into the room. But by my third day, I had a serious change of perspective. I realized that ShiShu Bhavan is a place of love. I could see it in the determined, beautiful face of the volunteer who came in every single day to work with one of the girls, Shaghufta, because she was determined to teach her to walk. The love lived in the eyes of my little friend Andeep, especially when he was giggling away and not eating his supper properly. I saw it in the pictures that line the wall, such as the one of an old nun who believed so much in the power of love that she had created ShiShu Bhavan.

I went to the place of madness, India, and learned that everything is about how you see it. The initial craziness of someone defecating on the street became the beauty of adaptation. If a room of seemingly helpless handicapped patients can turn into a room of goofy little kids, and a place I fear can turn into a place I can't wait to return to, doesn't that mean that any other change of perspective is possible too?

One morning, there was a thunderstorm like no other I have ever seen. My roommate and I sat on our bed and looked out the windows to see, at four in the morning, that the man who usually slept on that street was wide awake, vigorously shampooing his hair in the lightning. We watched, fascinated.

And I realized, when life hands you a lemon, you make lemonade.