Jaime is one of 60 youth participants starting his exchange this week after one week preparatory course. - The course has teached me new methods to work with other organisations and groups and sharing knowledge between the participants.

A diversity of projects

Red Cross, YWCA, Fundated and Ministry of Sport & Youth are among the organisations that will receive new youth participants in few days. The last group of youth participants will travel to parner organisations in new countries to work and stay for some months. To learn, to teach, to share, to gain new experiences and new perspectives.

Jaime Catrillo from Nicaragua

Jaime is from Nicaragua Caribbean coast and is going at exchange to Bolivia. He works under the umbrella of LNU – The Norwegian Council on Children and Youth Organizations. His organisation is JENH – Youth Setting New Horizons and they have a partnership with SAIH – Students Academic International Help Fund Norway.

The objectives of the project are to strengthen the leadership capacity of the three organizations, emphasizing equality, gender and diversity. - Our task will be to work with the youth indigenous and afrodescendant groups in Bolivia and Nicaragua and spread awareness about reproductive rights. As well as learn new methods of youth participation.

- My personal motivation is to learn new ways of seeing different cultural realities and apply them to my community's reality, says Jaime Castrillo from Nicaragua.

Astrid Ånestad from Norway

Astrid from Re in Vestfold is representing the Norwegian Church Aid organisation.

- I am going to be living in Kenya for four months. I am going to Kenya to learn about the organisation and what they are working with down there, and we are coming back to Norway and having an info tour to all the confirmants in Norway, we aim to motivate them to fund-raise for Norwegian Church Aid and its partner projects.

Her dream is to work with renewable energy in developing countries, and make a change in the way of thinking about our reality as a young person.

Praju Gurung from Nepal

Praju is heading for Tromsø to work with Red Cross Youth Circles. Focusing on information work, she will give presentations about topics ranging from HIV/AIDS, International Humanitarian Law and Red Cross/Red Crescent Values.

Furthermore, she will partake in a drive to promote Red Cross Youth in Norway, hoping to recruit new members.

Praju is seeking life experience from working in a Norwegian Red Cross Society. It differs greatly from the Nepali Red Cross, particularly in terms of organizational structure.

Praju knows she will face challenges in Norway, especially with the language and the completely new face of wester Norwegian society.

Marius H. Salvesen from Norway

Marius is a newly graduated student of Red Cross Nordic United World College (RCNUWC). He will now go to the Sahrawi Refugee Camps in Algeria as a part of the SahaNor FK Exchange Program.

The program is an educational exchange, and Marius will work as an English teacher providing basic education to mainly young women in the refugee camps. Additionally, he is encouraged to start other projects in the camp. With scarce resources and in a harsh environment, Marius and a total of six volunteers are hoping to provide first aid courses, information sessions and also sport activities. As an even higher aim, they are hoping to create a book with portraits and stories of the Sarhawi people.

The difficult living conditions in the Sahara Desert aside, Marius is expecting to gain insight in to a completely foreign culture, in which family is the centre of everything and time is a very loose concept. Also, he will smile along with the Sahrawis.

Read more about the FK Youth programme