Toby Sirzyk - Member Profiles - Community

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Toby Sirzyk


Gender and Age:		Male, 21
Location:		Montréal, Quebec
Country of Residence:		Canada
Country of Birth:		Canada
Nationalities:		Canadian
Citizenships:		Canada
Languages:		English , French



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About Me

Hello everyone who is looking at my profile page, my name's Toby Sirzyk. I am 18 years old and live in Montreal, Quebec. Although I do enjoy candlelit dinners and long walks on the beach, these traits are not the ones that define me, nor are they the reasons why I am taking part in YCI's 6 week Ghana program.
Africa has always been a continent that has interested and fascinated me. Whether it be through books and films representing it's beauty and diverse and loving culture or articles and pictures showing the horrors that have and continue to take place there.
I find that despite what I have seen and learned about Africa, this continent has become less of a tangible place and more of an abstract idea on both a personal and sociological level. Whether it be the economic and cultural differences between African society and our own or its distance from Canada, I find that there is a sense of detachment as well as awe whenever Africa is mentioned in Canadian society. It is as if Africa is understood to exist but at the same time cannot possibly be a real part of the world within which we live. It's profound differences make it seem almost alien when mentioned today.
I have a desire for social justice and change. I have and continue to worked on projects within my school to try and raise awareness and spur political action on the ongoing crisis in Darfur as well as the actions of the Lords Resistance Army in Uganda, Sudan, Congo and Central African Repuplic. Despite the work and research that I have done involving Africa I find that I am no closer to understanding it. The main reason for this being that same sense of abstractness mentioned before.
Throughout my life I have found that I have learned the most when put in new and diverse experiences. I love going out and seeing and experiencing cultures and places different than my own. I also find that when I am in new situations I experience the most personal growth. Ghana is a country that interested me because of it's vibrant culture and its fun-loving and welcoming population.This program represents the opportunity to see a new culture, and to help a community that I have heard so much about yet have never been able to understand as well as experience. I look forward to learning about Ghana and helping it's people. I also look forward to learning more about myself and others in the process.
In short, man I'm excited

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