Ends of the earth

Ameliasburgh teen seeks to learn and lend a hand

Kelli Miller is an ordinary County kid getting set to embark on a rather extraordinary
journey.

Kelli Miller wants to help. The bright and attractive 18 year old wants to use her skills and abilities to help others. While many her age immerse themselves in images of glamour and the yearning for more lavish lifestyles than they already enjoy, Kelli is occupied by ambitions to lend a hand, to do a small part to improve the life of someone who could never conceive of the life of a teenager in Ameliasburgh.

Early in July, Kelli boards an aircraft headed for Inhambane, Mozambique. Not only is this African coastal nation among the poorest in the world, with most people subsisting on just $1.25 a day, it also has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. More than one in 10 individuals is currently living with the disease.

Compounding the struggles of this largely agricultural people is the fact that few have access to clean drinking water, health facilities and schools.

There Kelli will work with aid agencies on community issues of substance abuse and HIV/AIDS. During her time in Mozambique she will live with a local family—working to improve her Portuguese language skills.

Then after three hot months in Africa she will fly off to the Yukon to spend three months in the Arctic winter. Although in a very different context, Kelli will be working with community groups to provide information and assistance on the very same issues of substance abuse and disease prevention.

Kelli is participating in a Canada World Youth program—a non-governmental organization founded by politician and writer Jacques Hebert in 1971. Hebert is most remembered for staging a 26-day hunger strike in 1986 when Brian Mulroney’s Conservatives threatened to axe Katimivik, a program he also created.

The Canada World Youth program was formed specifically to expand the role of youth in developing their communities and promoting world peace.

It is a mission that resonates with Ms. Miller.

She is bringing an open mind, an eagerness to learn and a willingness to work hard.

She is one of only eight Canadians participating in this trip and the only one from Ontario.

She survived a rigorous selection process involving interviews and plenty of paperwork. She also needs to raise $3,200 for the program. In part the fee is meant to ensure serious candidates, but it is also as a means to sustain the non-profit organization.

To raise the money Kelli is holding a few events including a yard sale on June 1 and 2. She is also making a direct appeal to her community for support for the mission.

But what can a teenager living a comfortable life in Prince Edward County—who has never travelled beyond Quebec, never been away from home—offer in a poverty stricken community in Mozambique?

She says she has seen substance abuse in her community and the hardship it causes.

“We take so much for granted,” said Miller. “But there are people struggling in this community.”

She is keen to learn the skills and obtain the tools to help.

“I want to be able to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Miller.

She knows the next six months will go a long way in shaping the person she wishes to be.

“I am really excited about this opportunity,” said Miller. “And a little nervous. I expect I will grow a great deal as a person. I am ready for that.”

Those wishing to help Kelli along her way may email her at kellimiller.95@hotmail.com or call her at 613.438.7040.