International youth take trip of a lifetime courtesy of Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout 

Tim Brody - Editor

Eleven young people from across the globe visited Sioux Lookout recently to explore the wilderness, push their limits, and make new friends through a week-long, approximately 160 kilometre canoe camp offered by the Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout. 
Participants came from German, Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Spain, France, and Taiwan. As there was an uneven number of participants, a local youth from Sioux Lookout was offered a place on the Rotary District 5550 International Canoe Trip for a total of 12 youth participants. 
The Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout shared, “The participants arrived July 3 and had training sessions on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The group, with their four leaders, were bussed to their start 71 km north of Savant Lake on Highway 599 on Sunday morning. Once on the water the group spent the next seven days paddling though northwestern Ontario lakes and rivers. During the trip the youth learned about themselves and learned new skills while forming lasting friendships.”
The Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout further informed, “Following seven days in the wilderness, the group had a pontoon boat ride up Minnitaki Lake to Foxy’s for dinner, enjoyed a hike up Sioux Mountain and met with Charles Meekis who talked about Indigenous history and stories, and were treated to a sightseeing float plane ride.
“The culmination of the camp was the International Dinner where each of the participants cooked a meal from their country/culture to share with those who made the trip possible.”
This year’s Rotary District 5550 International Canoe Trip participants were: Fredrich Kleyboldt – Germany, Giorgio Tixi – Italy, Elisa Clementi – Italy, Maurus Schwarz – Switzerland, Filip Janecek - Czech Republic, Albert     Guierrez Alvarez – Spain, Marci Senac – Spain, Matthias Kreuter – Germany, 
Thibaut Mariani – France, Willy     Lin – Taiwan, Carla Croce – Spain, and Presley Brohm – Sioux Lookout, Canada.
Elisa Clementi said the canoe trip was a challenging experience that she found physically and mentally challenging. She said she was very proud of herself for surpassing her limits.
“I think it was a very hard experience. I really enjoyed it. I didn’t expect it to be so hard,” she said, adding she had never done anything like this before.
“I wanted to do this type of experience, camping in nature, also doing canoeing,” she shared.
“I had to struggle a lot with my personal physical limits. We had to do so many portages. It was very hard, so I tried my best,” she said.
“I wanted to push myself to do something that I don’t usually do and go over my limits,” she said, adding “I’m very, very happy. I’m proud of me. I discovered a part of myself that I probably didn’t even know I had it. I feel more self-esteem in myself.”
She said she especially enjoyed the beautiful wilderness during the trip.
Maurus Schwarz said he enjoyed the experience, “It was really welcoming from all the people here. They took a lot of effort and time to show us around.”
He added, “It got a bit out of your comfort zone from time to time, but that was what I was looking for, so really happy I found this.”
He said his favourite part of the trip was the people. “Just getting to know people from all around the world. Being able to share stories and just get a feeling for international exchanges.”
Asked about coming to Canada for a week-long canoe trip through the Canadian wilderness, he said, “It’s actually the first time I flew over the Atlantic (Ocean)… Canada is really well regarded in Switzerland with all the nature and the people. I just wanted to see that. I’m glad I did.”
Thibaut Mariani said of his experience, “This is very good… I see different animals like bear, moose.”
He said he really enjoyed the portages along the route. “It was great,” he said.
He said his love of travel is what brough him to Sioux Lookout for the canoe trip.
Sioux Lookout’s Presley Brohm said she was grateful for the opportunity to go along on the canoe trip, “I had a very nice experience. I was able to make new friends from around the world and gain more knowledge about where I grew up and the area surrounding Sioux Lookout.”
She continued, “My favourite part of the experience was definitely the nights at camp and being able to spend time with everyone and learn more about their cultures.”
Her family having hosted an exchange student from Brazil when she was younger, she shared, “I decided to go on the canoe trip because my exchange brother went on it like 10 years ago and ever since then I have wanted to do it.”
The Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout confirmed that although there are 60 or more different focussed camps throughout the world, this is the only one in Canada.
“In 1993 a group of Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout offered a week-long canoe camp to youth from Europe. The camp has been offered every year since, except during COVID and last year due to insurance not being available,” the Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout shared of the canoe trip’s origin.
“It takes an army of volunteers to offer this experience. Many members of the Rotary Club assist with logistics. There are also numerous families who have hosted the youth in their homes and community members who have shared their expertise of leadership and canoeing,” the Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout further informed.
“In future years we hope to welcome even more youth to our community as we re-establish following COVID,” the Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout concluded.