Knowledge exchange participants inspire global ideas and global change

Any given day at the head office of the YMCA of Greater Toronto, you’ll see a few familiar things: the welcoming basketball court–style floor in front of the elevators, the friendly staff members who greet you at the front desk, and the flurry of activity, conversations and overall liveliness of the more than 200 people working there.

Stephanie Cruz Gomez.

Over the last few weeks, however, the head office — and program locations across Toronto — has played host to three amazing individuals: Stephanie, Cesar, and Santiago.  They’ve been visiting us as part of an ongoing international knowledge exchange between the YMCAs of Medellin, Colombia and Mexico City, Mexico, and perhaps they’ve been teaching us more than we’ve been showing them about how the Y builds healthy communities.

Though they joined the Y in their communities for different reasons, all three are dedicated to helping others in their own way. Santiago started volunteering at the YMCA of Medellin when he was just 13 years old, after seeing his brother do the same; now 18, he teaches English to kids and IT skills to parents. Stephanie, a student of Recreation at the YMCA University in Mexico City, joined her association in 2011 and became a passionate advocate for volunteering — so much so that she got all of her friends and family involved as volunteers. Cesar, the person behind the very active social media strategy of the YMCA of Medellin, uses his talents to teach youth to capture the realities of their communities through photography, video, and the written word.

Cesar Durango.

Thanks to the generosity of fellow YMCA staff here in Toronto, they have been able to not only learn about how the YMCA works in Canada, but also how the people of Toronto live and contribute to their own communities.  Ken Zolotar, Manager of Stakeholder Relations — and also a former international exchange participant to Colombia — has been hosting Stephanie at his home with his fiancée Claire. “One of the great things about having Stephanie with us is to talk about what happened during the day and get her opinion about Canada as whole and compare them to her home in Mexico,” Ken says. “We make a point to celebrate the positives of our countries as well as discuss some of challenges that we face that don’t fit some cultural stereotypes — positive and negative.”

Santiago Lopez (top centre).

From joining in on camping activities at Camp Pine Crest and learning about “play-to-learn” activities at child care centres, to getting their hands dirty while beautifying the green roof at the Central Y, Santiago, Stephanie, and Cesar have shown us what it means to truly serve a be a shining example in their communities — and ours. We only hope that we can do the same, long after the exchange is over for another year.

For more information about the YMCA of Greater Toronto’s Global activities, click here.