SPRINGVALE—For one month each year, students from around the world converge for the Lions Club’s annual International Youth Exchange Program.
This year, 13 campers from across Europe visited Lions District A2, including clubs across Haldimand, Norfolk, and Niagara, with Townsend Lion Bill MacKenzie front and centre in the preparations.
Hagersville Lion John Harvey shared that the program began in 1960 when Lions clubs in Japan, California, and Nevada organized the first informal youth exchange.
“We’ve been going at it here for a lot of years. Bill Evers from Dunnville was one of the first ones involved for this district. That’s why we named the camp after him,” said Harvey.
While the local program has evolved over the years, going from tent camping in Selkirk to staying at the current camp facility on the property of Springvale Bison Farm, generously donated each year by local businessman Mike Waters, the general idea has remained the same.
“The purpose of the program is it’s a cultural exchange. It’s not for tourism,” said Harvey, noting that MacKenzie ensures everyone bunks with someone new to them. “We also put them in teams, and they make breakfast every morning…. Some of these kids have never cooked. Some come from families where they have a cook. This is a really good experience. The interaction of working together, that’s important.”
Visiting campers first spend time in Canada with a host family, where they get to experience local day-to-day life and trips to fun destinations like Niagara Falls and Canada’s Wonderland. Next, the youth come together at the Springvale camp for socializing, playing, and working together, all while learning about each other’s different cultures and countries.
“This is the only camp in Ontario that doesn’t charge a fee…. So far, our Lions have been so generous we haven’t had to do that, and the program costs about $10-12,000 a year,” said Harvey, noting how the area clubs pitch in by providing meals. On the day of The Press visit, the Fisherville Lions were on hand serving a tasty lunch of sandwiches, with the Fonthill club scheduled to provide dinner that evening.
The Press spoke with some campers to learn about why they wanted to come to Canada, and what their experience has been like.
“I came here to meet new people, to gain some cultural knowledge, and to get to know Canada, as it was one of my dream countries to visit,” said Maks, a 17-year-old from Poland. “To explore your culture, to explore your countryside, your cities, everything. That’s the main point to get together with those beautiful people of Lions.”
Chirill, from Pridnestrovie, shared, “I’m really, really happy to be here. It was my first experience as an exchange student, and I’m really enjoying it. It’s my first time on this continent in general. It’s spacious. I’d like to be here a second time.”
Seventeen-year-old Ajia from Denmark has participated in other exchange programs, which she enjoyed: “I took the opportunity to get a little further away from home and try being on my own.”
Eighteen-year-old Maria from Spain heard about the District A2 camp from a Hungarian friend who recommended it while staying together at another Lions camp in Texas last summer.
“She really enjoyed it and they were doing so many things here, so I said ‘ok, let’s go!’,” recalled Maria.
Coming from the crowded city of London, England, camper Shriya was impressed by the wide-open spaces she’s explored since arriving in southern Ontario.
“I didn’t realize how much countryside and water, lakes, and everything you guys have here, and especially the bugs for me was really a thing I had to overcome. I still haven’t overcome, but it’s getting easier to deal with it,” she shared. “When we were staying by the water, so many people have boats, and they can just go out. That’s so completely different for us; it’s not normal to go to the beach.”
The program relies on host families in the area bringing the campers into their homes. Marty Byl and his wife Beverly of Niagara-on-the-Lake were first-time hosts this year.
“We kept hearing about the program, and we knew they were a little short staffed when it came to host families, so last minute we jumped in and we took two girls,” said Marty.
He praised the campers for being a great help while staying with him, helping build a deck and cooking meals unique to their respective countries, in addition to pitching in with various Lion fundraising activities.
Hagersville resident and Townsend Lion Christina Hill and her husband Scott were also first timers, ending up with four campers.
“The only issue was we had one bathroom and at one time five girls, six if you count me, and one poor man, who had to make a couple trips to Tim Hortons to use the washroom,” joked Christina. “We had a five-day sleepover in the basement. We can’t wait to do it again.”
Host Kelly Oatman of Courtland summed up the experience, encouraging other families with the time and resources to consider being a host family themselves.
“It is an awesome thing to get involved with,” she said. “I cannot tell you how happy I am that we did this. We got two great girls…. They have given us an experience that they probably will never know…. It is spectacular – life changing.”
For more information on the program, visit lionsclub.org or contact your local club to find out how you can get involved.
