The Ultimate Challenge For Healthy Living
The goal of this ultimate challenge was to expand the Cultural knowledge of Aboriginal Youth in an outdoor setting.
Tony Liske

In the past year, I have been made aware of a crisis in education as well as a sense of justice in native youth. I noticed that there are problems with family breakdowns, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide and high crime rates.

Coming from a small native community, I look at the youth themselves and I see something different about them. The problems are still there, but I see real native teenagers who want so much to change and want to do something about it.

They want a chance to shape their own future and the future of their loved ones. I see youth who have been battered and bruised, but who are trying very hard to get back on their feet. They want a chance to belong and be themselves in this world today but can’t do it.

This is the problem that faces our young native people. As a 15 year old Aboriginal youth, this has encouraged me to promote health and wellness for native youth through The Ultimate Challenge and leadership camps. My goal is to show youth how to keep their identity and once again take control of their future.

The goal of this ultimate challenge was to expand the cultural knowledge of Aboriginal Youth in an outdoor setting. I have been enriched with new competencies as I explored my identity, within the realm of the beauty of nature and leadership development.

This challenge offered a unique opportunity for me to work side-by-side with other native youth, hands-on service and cultural exchange in the aim of fostering cultural understanding.

This Leadership Camp did more for me than anything. The ten days of continuous events and activities offered wisdom and insight about who I am as a leader touched me in such a small amount of time. Forever this experience will be with me.

At the Leadership Camp I explored and mastered distinctions of leadership. By teaching me how to think, and not what to think, to control and design my future, this amazing camp provided me with the opportunity to unlock my leadership potential and to develop the essential skills needed for future effective leadership.

This Leadership Camp provided amazing opportunities to learn important aspects of leadership. This inspired me to take my leadership skills to a higher level. Teamwork, commitment and trust were a just a few of the subjects that I’ve learned about.

One of the greatest rewards I can return home with is the knowledge that I faced a new challenge and grew from that challenge.

My goal for this year is to place a greater emphasis in teambuilding and use the skills I’ve learned to interact with native youth in team sports such as basketball, track ‘n’ ? eld, soccer, and swimming.

Yours for healthy living, Tony Liske