Camp Courage, a Nova Scotia camp that encourages young women and gender-diverse youth to explore careers in firefighting and other emergency services, is marking 20 years.
Founder and executive director, Andréa Speranza, says more than 36 per cent of participants go on to work in emergency services.
And many, she says, stay in the industry.
“They have (at the camp) … an entire family behind them, so they have a lot more support, and I think sometimes even if you just have somebody you can ask questions to and somebody that can mentor you, I think that makes a big difference,” said Speranza.
Camper Kinleigh MacDougall says the program was the perfect fit for her because she’s always wanted to be a firefighter.
“I decided this would be a great opportunity to see … how everything works,” she said.
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Through hands-on experiences and mentorship, the goal is to show the campers that anything is possible.
“Something that I have learned here is that you should always push yourself to your fullest, and that was maybe not something I had always experienced,” said camper Ruhab Sandhu. “But here, everyone is beyond encouraging for you to try your best, even in little, little things.”
Speranza says the goal now is to roll the program out nationally.
For more on this story, watch the video above.
— with a file from Global News’ Rebecca Lau
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