Dan Doherty introduced RYLA local attendees who also attended RYLA International in Birmingham: from Olds, Joe Crawford, and from Calgary, Ross Chaudhry. Joe attended the U of C event with the sponsorship of Olds Rotary. Ross was sponsored by our club.

JOE CRAWFORD
Joe was an exchange student in Thailand. He was recently named youth citizen of the year in Olds. Whilst in Thailand, Joe created a water conveyor for a village. He also provided a washing machine for a home assisting street women. He mentioned that the Thai club really did not appreciate his projects, but he felt a passion to do something. Oh and teddy bears for kids. Neat!

He described the RYLA event as a life-changing experience. He told us of meeting like-minded teens from across southern Alberta. He mentioned the team building exercises that were uplifting. It was a joy for him to meet his peers aged 15 - 18. Joe will attend the U in New Brunswick.

ROSS CHAUDHRY
Ross is an engineering student at Queens. He spoke about a project he helped create in Sierra Leone. The project gave hot meals to school children for a year - 500 young people were fed.

The project was complicated but Cause Canada assisted Ross in his efforts. (My recollection is that Cause Canada is based in Canmore and we have worked with them.) Local farmers provided the food and made a living. Chefs were hired and trained by the project. Everything was based locally. Ross raised $15,000 to do the project. The children could attend school and be fed, their families could not afford to send them.

Ross was a student at Westmount Charter School. We have done many things with these young people, including our outbound student.

Both Joe and Ross went to RYLA in Birmingham, England. There, 100 RYLA students aged 18-30 were present from 30 countries. The aim was global understanding. How does one make the world a better place?

Joe and Ross brought RYLA to life for many of us. They attended and then returned as leaders. The smile on Dan Doherty's face told it all. Way to go Dan, cuz you helped to make it happen.