Métis youth Gavin Blondeau, the son of one of the current Chapel Gallery show artists, has been selected for an internship program that will take him to Kenya. (Submitted photo/Gavin Blondeau)

By Angela Brown

Learning from the outside in

Métis youth heading to Kenya for program says learning has no borders

Jul 14, 2019 | 5:00 PM

For Gavin Blondeau, learning doesn’t end in the classroom, it’s a way of life.

That’s why the Métis youth is over the moon to be one of two youth from Saskatchewan selected in an international internship program at the end of the summer that will take him to Kenya.

The son of artist Laurie Blondeau, who is currently participating in a Chapel Gallery show in North Battleford, is one of 20 Indigenous youth from across Canada selected for the four-month program. Blondeau, who lives in Saskatoon, and 27-year-old Prestin Fleming from Stanley Mission north-east of La Ronge, were selected from Saskatchewan. Fleming will go to Guyana for his part of the program.

“I’m really excited; it’s coming up right away. I’m pretty nervous, but I’m proud of myself as well,” Blondeau said.

While he may be a little apprehensive initially, he said he has “an open mind” to the experience.

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The internship is offered through a partnership involving the Atlantic Council for International Cooperation, the Northern Council for Global Cooperation, BYTE Empowering Youth, the Confederation of Mainland Mi’kmaq, the Native Council of PEI and GPI Atlantic. Participants will live and work overseas with a non-profit organization.

Blondeau will work in the south-west of Kenya at a resource centre in Rift Valley, operated by Canadian charity Run for Life. He will help with community development work and record area elders telling their stories and oral traditions to preserve the knowledge.

“I’m hoping to gain some wisdom from the people there, and maybe learn some important lessons, as well as meet the elders of another culture,” the 21-year-old said.

The University of Saskatchewan student can see a local connection as well, from an Indigenous lens.

“I think it’s really relevant in a contemporary sense for us, because a lot of Indigenous people in Canada are pushing to decolonize,” Blondeau said. “Kenya was a country that was colonized by the British, and there is a strong movement there as well. They have had lots of push to try to preserve their own culture. So there are many parallels in line with that in Indigenous society here.”

In his work in Kenya, he will help people access water through wells and visit schools to help them use new technology donated by Canadian charities.

Blondeau looks forward to getting to know Kenyans.

The youth said while he will be helping others, sees it as a learning opportunity that he is grateful for, and one that will help him develop a better world-view.

“I get to experience their culture, and learn from them,” he said. “Maybe I’ll bring some practices, and some knowledge and traditions from Canada, but really I’m going there to experience what they have. Hopefully, I can learn from that and bring it back here, in Canada.”

Blondeau added he hopes the experience will open up new opportunities as he prepares to pursue a career in global business.

Blondeau said he believes it is important that as a person living in Canada, especially Saskatchewan, to start to develop more of a global mindset.

“We think really locally here, and a lot of the issues we deal with today are affected by many different global factors that we don’t exactly see,” he said. “Developing that sort of mindset where you can recognize the different things that are influencing our decisions, and the problems we are facing is really important. Part of going on this internship is doing that.”

His mother said Gavin travelled to Vietnam when he was only 18 and motorcycled from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, so crossing remote borders to experience life in its most real form isn’t something new for him.

“Gavin is very curious and is willing to share knowledge with others; therefore it is my hope that he will continue to spread the word on cultural diversity and kindness to others through this particular experience,” she said, adding she is proud of her son’s willingness to take on this new challenge.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW