Parents
Follow their adventure!
Before the program
During the program
After the program
Preparation
Whether your teen is leaving home for the first or fourth time, preparation is always a crucial step of the departure process. Leaving their usual, day-to-day routine and comforts behind brings its share of doubts, fears and questions. Also, during the following months, they will have to adapt to a whole new reality, in which group living, the learning program and the volunteering experience will be part and parcel of your daily life.
The day your child leaves for Katimavik, about 250 other youth from across the country will be travelling to various destinations. Katimavik organizes and pays for the travel expenses and arrangements of all volunteers and the Transportation Office will contact your teen approximately 1 month prior to departure to give him/her all the information he or she will need. Before they leave, volunteers receive detailed travel instructions and all the tickets they need to reach their first destination, as well as useful tips to get ready to go!
Expenses
Katimavik pays the large majority of program costs, including:
In order to volunteer for Katimavik, your teen must contribute:
Katimavik takes place in two Canadian communities, with different project leaders (one per community). Your teen shares his everyday life with 10 other young people from across Canada. The house or apartment rented by Katimavik becomes his/her new living environment and the host community provides you with exciting work projects.
All Katimavik residences include furniture, a common area where workshops and weekly meetings take place, a fully-equipped kitchen, a bathroom and bedrooms. Boys and girls sleep in separate rooms.
In each community, volunteers will live for a shot period with a host family in order to familiarize themselves further with all the facets of their host community. This period is a great opportunity to improve their language skills and is a truly enriching experience on many levels!
Keeping in touch
Email may be the best way to keep in contact with your teen while he/she is on the program. Set a plan for keeping in touch because telephones are for emergency use only.
Before coming back home
Volunteers take part in an overall debriefing at the end of the program. The final debriefing has three parts: a look back on the last trimester, a look back at the program as a whole to highlight the progress made by volunteers, and finally, preparation for the next step – leaving the group. This is a very difficult moment for the group that must split up after such an intense time together. Special attention must be given to preparing the end of program departure. Once again, the Project Leader will make volunteers aware of the changes they will face when they return to their communities, parents and friends. They will need to prepare for reuniting with their loved ones and entourage, who will also have grown and changed – even if they haven’t been in the Katimavik program!
Like in the beginning of the program, the transportation department will communicate with volunteers and take care of all travel arrangements.
During the program
After the program
Before the program
PreparationWhether your teen is leaving home for the first or fourth time, preparation is always a crucial step of the departure process. Leaving their usual, day-to-day routine and comforts behind brings its share of doubts, fears and questions. Also, during the following months, they will have to adapt to a whole new reality, in which group living, the learning program and the volunteering experience will be part and parcel of your daily life.
The day your child leaves for Katimavik, about 250 other youth from across the country will be travelling to various destinations. Katimavik organizes and pays for the travel expenses and arrangements of all volunteers and the Transportation Office will contact your teen approximately 1 month prior to departure to give him/her all the information he or she will need. Before they leave, volunteers receive detailed travel instructions and all the tickets they need to reach their first destination, as well as useful tips to get ready to go!
Expenses
Katimavik pays the large majority of program costs, including:
- Transportation
- Housing
- Food and basic necessities
- Program activities
In order to volunteer for Katimavik, your teen must contribute:
- A $35 non-refundable application fee.
- A $150 non-refundable participation fee once you are officially accepted to Katimavik. This fee covers accident insurance, your criminal record check and other administrative costs.
- A $350 travel deposit once officially accepted to Katimavik. You will be reimbursed this amount when you successfully complete the program. Volunteers who quit the program or are asked to leave the program for violation of the behavioural standards will not be reimbursed the $350.
During the program
Katimavik takes place in two Canadian communities, with different project leaders (one per community). Your teen shares his everyday life with 10 other young people from across Canada. The house or apartment rented by Katimavik becomes his/her new living environment and the host community provides you with exciting work projects. All Katimavik residences include furniture, a common area where workshops and weekly meetings take place, a fully-equipped kitchen, a bathroom and bedrooms. Boys and girls sleep in separate rooms.
In each community, volunteers will live for a shot period with a host family in order to familiarize themselves further with all the facets of their host community. This period is a great opportunity to improve their language skills and is a truly enriching experience on many levels!
Keeping in touch
Email may be the best way to keep in contact with your teen while he/she is on the program. Set a plan for keeping in touch because telephones are for emergency use only.
After the program
Before coming back home Volunteers take part in an overall debriefing at the end of the program. The final debriefing has three parts: a look back on the last trimester, a look back at the program as a whole to highlight the progress made by volunteers, and finally, preparation for the next step – leaving the group. This is a very difficult moment for the group that must split up after such an intense time together. Special attention must be given to preparing the end of program departure. Once again, the Project Leader will make volunteers aware of the changes they will face when they return to their communities, parents and friends. They will need to prepare for reuniting with their loved ones and entourage, who will also have grown and changed – even if they haven’t been in the Katimavik program!
Like in the beginning of the program, the transportation department will communicate with volunteers and take care of all travel arrangements.
