On November 15, 2010, the International Support Worker Program at Loyalist College met with the international community, welcoming members of Canadian University Services Overseas, and leaders in community development from Guyana, South America.
Jessica Dubelaar, Public Engagement Officer with CUSO/VSO; Barbara Lawrence, Director of Rehabilitation, Guyana Ministry of Health; Nicholas Fredericks, Community Trainer, Kanuku Mountains Community Representative Group; past CUSO graduates and current students in the ISW program at Loyalist spent the day discussing international development options.
CUSO-VSO is an agency which promotes volunteering to bring people together to fight poverty and evoke change. Each year, CUSO-VSO sends hundreds of motivated individuals to more than 40 countries to work on collaborative development projects.
Barbara Lawrence and Nicholas Fredericks are currently on a cross-country tour, sharing ideas with groups concerned about international development. They will also be spending three weeks at the Coady International Institute in Nova Scotia.
The International Support Worker (ISW) program is an innovative new program at Loyalist which focuses on international development. The goal of this one-year, post-graduate certificate program is to provide competent staff to work in international development, disaster relief, non-profit and community development organizations anywhere in the world.
The ISW program is student-centred, developing a learning community through open dialogue. The program is also based on an experiential model, focusing on learning through activities rather than through textbook-based study and lectures. The intent is to facilitate learning on many levels – factually, emotionally, skillfully and spiritually.
In the first semester, students study conversational Spanish and explore international development strategies through classroom discussion and group activities and projects. The content focuses on global concerns related to literacy development, poverty reduction, public health, employment creation, sustainable environmental options, public awareness and education, and ways to reduce the impact of conflict and war.
During the second semester, following an introduction to safe travel, all students and faculty will leave for Chiapas, Southern Mexico to continue their program. Students will spend four weeks living with a Mexican family, working with development agencies, and in dialogue with people who live in stressful conditions. Students return to the College in March, reflect and share their experiences, and prepare for a final four-week internship in another part of the world.
Media Contact: Dianne Spencer, Executive Director College Advancement & External Relations, Loyalist College, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2235 or International Support Worker Program Coordinator, Professor Gary Warren, gwarren@loyalistc.on.ca