ABOUT TRAVEL FOR cHANGE - OUTER LIMITS PROGRAM .....
Based out of Toronto's Scadding Court Community Centre,Travel for Change – Outer Limits Program works in partnerships with individuals, organizations and the residents of Vallipuram - Thirukalkundram Taluk, a village in the South Indian State of Tamil Nadu. Up to 10 Canadian participants spend time in the village and volunteer with specific projects that support its social and economic development. For example assisting with the village school in the City of Chennai and working with seniors. This is a great opportunity to make a personal contribution at the global level, experience hands-on learning about another country and culture, and exchange ideas and learn from people you might otherwise never meet.
why scadding court offers this program ?
Some people wonder why a local community centre is offering an international program. Our philosophy is this:
We view each local community as a part of the greater global community. As such, we believe that community action in one place can, and do, have an important impact on the world community.
Scadding Court Community Centre has a history of offering international experiences to youth in the downtown area that otherwise may not have the chance to volunteer and travel abroad.
Travel provides important learning opportunities that we cannot simulate on-site. We believe that it is important to give youth the chance to have experiences that include exposure to ways of thinking and living that are outside of their norm – there is no better way to get perspective and challenge your everyday thinking than to travel outside of your familiar.
This type of experience would normally cost thousands of dollars – we at Scadding believe that money should not be a barrier to gaining valuable life experience – so we offer partial to full subsidies for this trip in order to make it accessible to everyone.
“I traveled to India through the Scadding Court Outer Limits program from January to March 2008. I found the experience extremely enriching, and would recommend any young person interested in traveling and participating in a different way of life to consider this program. The Canadian and Indian staff teams were very helpful and enabled me to feel comfortable in any new environment."
– Kerry O’Meara