Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout’s International Camp cancelled for second consecutive year
Reeti Meenakshi Rohilla - Staff Writer
The Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout’s International Camp, which hosts students from across the globe for a Wilderness Canoe Experience, has been cancelled for a second year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Club’s International Youth Camp (IYC) Chair Susan Barclay said, “With the way transportation is around the world, coming in and out of Canada and other places, it’s just not possible. Rotary International has not made a definite proclamation that there can be no exchanges, although we do expect to see that shortly. They did also cancel all of the exchange programs during 2020.”
With over 80 Rotary Club International Camps conducted worldwide, the Rotary Club of Sioux Lookout is the only club in Canada to offer an international camp. Barclay added that the two-week camp, open for ages 18-22, offers an amazing variety of opportunities to students from far and wide.
“While we all hope the situation will improve by summer. We feel it prudent to make our decision now, as there is preparations that need to be done in advance by the Rotary Club and the potential participants,” she said.
This year would have marked the 28th year of conducting the Wilderness Canoe Experience camp in Sioux Lookout’s backyard. However, with the initiative having been cancelled for a second consecutive year, Barclay said that the club looks forward to hosting students next year. She added that the camp would usually take place around the first week of July when students would be trained and taken for about a week long adventure in the bush, along with offering a few other fun activities. In past years, the camp has hosted students from Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico, United States and parts of Europe.
Barclay said that the idea of conducting an International Camp in Sioux Lookout was inspired by an initiative undertaken by the Rotary Club of Winnipeg that was introduced locally by a fellow Rotarian. She added, “We’ve just carried on the tradition since.”
Barclay shared, “Some of our Rotarians and friends will be going to the trip area this summer to make sure that the portages and campsites are in good shape. Mother Nature has a way of falling trees across pathways. The Rotarians will check the route so we will be ready to welcome participants in July of 2022.”