Together

At 3 a.m., an ululating owl wakes up some of the group. The trio of participants Maeve and Noémie get up to accompany Shauntai to the toilet. Even in the middle of the night, solidarity and mutual aid are the order of the day… The facilitators can hear them laughing as they make their way to their destination together. Marie-Michelle even finds it hard to get back to sleep, so moved is she to have witnessed this moment.

Also on Sunday evening, Artin went to see Hari before bed, ready to help him make sure he didn’t need assistance with anything. This group of young people are super attentive to each other and help each other out enormously, a kind of mutual understanding you don’t see anywhere else.

Imam and Antonin are up before Marie-Michelle and Eve-Marie even have time to wake them up to the sounds of their ukuleles. A classic breakfast burrito awaits them, with the added bonus of a fire to keep them warm, started by the hard-working logisticians. Then it’s a departure facing the wind to follow the game plan drawn up by the participants. Plan A, the Hari plan: they’ll make their way to a small island for a nature connection activity, guided in part by Hari himself.

Once on the island, all but Hari were blindfolded. They were paired with a volunteer and hiked a short trail on the island to a large erratic rock in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Hari took care to describe to his acolytes what he was seeing, and after a while they all took off their blindfolds to see the environment around them. For a few minutes, they stood beneath the rock, wondering how it had come to be there. Did it fall from the sky, or did the earth recede from underneath? It was a great moment, with the whole group playing along… What an experience to be guided through nature blindfolded! All our other senses are on the lookout for the smallest details, stimulated and nourished.

Then it’s off to Los Palmos for dinner. The atmosphere in the boats is really fun. In Marie-Michelle’s boat, everyone is in a good mood, eager to get to their meal. In Eve Marie’s boat, a little further back, we hear team Shouting “Butter chicken! Butter Chicken” to rally the troops! On the menu at Café de la pointe, an excellent potato salad accompanied by a delicious tomato soup.

The meal gives way to a discussion proposed by Manon, who has “always” worked with young people as a Child Life Specialist with young cancer patients at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). Young people are invited to share, if they wish, a lesson cancer has taught them, or something they’ve inspired in those around them, something that has come out of their experience. The importance of the support network is emphasized to sustain them through this experience. Shauntai is particularly grateful that her friends organized a big, 70s-themed dance party for her before she had to wear a prosthesis. Dancing as much as possible before her life takes a completely different turn…

The idea of not worrying too much about life’s little problems was also put forward. To simply be grateful for what they are able to do, to live each day to the full as they are able, and to enjoy every little thing in life. A positive discussion that leaves them peacefully basking in the sun on Los Palmos beach…

On the way to the last camp, games enliven both boats. Both boats are full of laughter and fun. Once we reach the Natjelaime camp (NatIloveher camp), a few brave souls are up for a swim. Once the camp is set up, Manon, Imam, Antonin and Noémie jump into the water. The water is icy cold. After the quick swim, burgers cooked over an open fire were served.

Fun aside: in the last few days, Manon has been more than lucky to avoid the water falling from the tarpaulins when the rain water pockets were released. Each time, it was just by a few centimetres. This evening, on a sunny day, Marie-Michelle spilled her bottle of water on the table and Manon got really wet!

Following a game of Uno, the whole group gathers around the fire for the expedition’s closing discussion. A large circle gathers all the members, they were invited to share the word they feel best represents their expedition. The connection that exists between them is put forward, the mutual support, the gratitude they feel for having the chance to meet other young people who, like them have cancer, and also the chance they had to create special bonds with all the volunteer team and the facilitators from the founadation. The volunteers were thanked for all the time they invest in these expeditions, the time they don’t spend with their families, but are there to accompany these young people on their expeditions.

This is followed by the bracelet ceremony, in which each person in the circle holds between their fingers a piece of the long rope that will later be used to create bracelets for all members of the group. A beautiful expedition memory… Everyone is invited to close their eyes as Eve Marie reviews each key moment of the expedition, so that the whole group can recall what a wonderful adventure it was.

As they receive their bracelet, the sky presents them with a magnificent spectacle. Stars galore, with the northern lights (aurora borealis) covering the sky. It’s beautiful, it’s alive, it takes different forms. A magnificent evening that ends on the rocky tip of the Natjelaime site to witness this concert orchestrated especially for the participants by Mother Nature herself.

Translated by Sylvain Léveillé