By Erin Wright
It takes about 30 million dips of a paddle to travel by canoe from Quebec City to Vancouver. What if every dip could be turned into a one dollar donation to support AIDS research?
That is what six paddlers and four support staff between the ages of 22 and 30 plan to do by using their combination of skills and energy to complete a seven-month transcontinental voyage.
The expedition will follow the original route taken by the voyageurs three hundred years ago along the waterways of Canada’s Native peoples. The journey will begin in Quebec Ciy on Apr. 25 and cover roughly 7,000 km to Vancouver harbour where they plan to arrive on Dec. 1, 1995 on World AIDS Day.
The “Paddle for Life” expedition aims to spread awareness about HIV and AIDS. Although entirely “human-powered,” the trip incorporates state-of-the-art technology to communicate with Canadian students and scientists, who will follow the progress of the journey and exchange ideas with the paddlers.
By focusing national attention on HIV and AIDS through a voyage of discovery and hope, “Paddle for Life” hopes to inspire those struggling with the disease in their daily lives, and encourage all Canadians to support research for a cure.
The paddlers hope to maintain a pace of 40 km a day, tackling a diverse range of elements in the Canadian environment.
“Realistically there will be days when we can’t go on the water,” says Steve Turner, who used to work for Environment Canada and is both a professional technician and guide who will oversee studies of wildlife, water quality, etc.
Twenty-seven-year-old Bryce Conacher conceived of the voyage and leads the expedition. In 1989, his cousin died of AIDS at the age of 35, and the personal tragedy motivated him to raise money for the disease. Conacher has been working since October 1993 researching and consulting. He also rounded up volunteers and participants for the voyage.
“Everything is volunteer…out of pocket, out of debt and taking odd jobs here and there to pay the bills,” Conacher said.
He added that the group has secured food and equipment costs for the expedition. Paddle for Lie will maintain an office in Toronto for fundraising activities, and they will facilitate correspondence with the group. Elementary and post-secondary teachers and students will lend their support by creating local awareness and fundraising events.
The educational component is a focal point of the expedition. A modern day “quill and parchment”—the notebook computer with fax/modern—will connect the paddlers to students, educators and interest groups via direct voice communication and SchoolNet/Internet links. This will enable them to respond to survey requests about historical, environmental and social issues.
Even as the paddlers venture into remote areas that their support vehicles cannot access, they will be completely accessible to the public. Paddle for Life will have its own Internet server, which will connect them to the world.
Paddle for Life will also have a hand-sized Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine their exact geographic position at any given time using satellites. They will also be equipped with a cellular telephone, a satellite up-link, a two-way radio, and Hi—8 video and still cameras.
Michael Semeredy, who is HIV positive and sits on the boards of CANFAR and Paddle for Life, said the project is appropriately targeted at youth.
“From an awareness point of view, it’s just a fabulous trip…the largest increase in HIV disease in Canada is among students. It’s very scary: there’s a lot of education and a lot of it can’t happen to me,” Semeredy said.
Twenty-four-year-old Scott Belton, the Route and Logistics coordinator, has been living in Banff, Alberta where the population is young and transient, and the fear of STDs is imminent.
“AIDS doesn’t have a cure, there is no drug and there is the possibility of it going out of control, especially in the Third world. The potential of what it could become is why I want to do something,” he said.
Paddle for Life media coordinator Amie McKale, who also lives in Banff, points out that “AIDS is the highest per capita STD in Banff,”
These realities are frightening, but these young Canadians have combined this concern with a passion for adventure and a love of the outdoors. Creating awareness for something as disturbing as AIDS may actually become the trip of a lifetime.
Conacher, coming from a family tradition of canoe enthusiasts, said a cross-country expedition in a canoe—the paddle and canoe representing icons of Canadian culture—is what inspired him.
“We’re looking at Canadian history with the canoe, geography with the route, people by going into home towns…our country was founded with a canoe,” Conacher said.
Paddle for Life’s goal is to “survey the health of the nation”: connecting the health of the Canadian environment with the health and well-being of its people. Semeredy says awareness is key because “in the minds of many people it is still a very segmented disease…it’s not an urban gay problem: it goes right through the whole population.
Paddle for Life will welcome local canoe clubs, media people, celebrities and members of the AIDS community to join them during various parts of the journey.
Twenty-year-old Braden Bennett, who Conacher says was “born with a paddle in his hand,” is the equipment coordinator for the voyage. The notion of a cross-Canada journey and his love of canoeing drew him to the project.
“I swing from being nervous to really excited,” says Wendy Trusler, who is in charge of food and nutrition for the trip.
Other Paddle for Life members include Susan Chapelle, who will provide the technical expertise for the communications equipment, as well as Bill Hume and Andrea Osborne, both seasoned canoeists and guides.
The environmental metaphor of the project will demonstrate how behavior, attitude and foresight can affect health. Conacher has harsh words for today’s young people, who he believes are shirking away from their responsibilities as citizens.
“I have a personal gripe with the Gen Xers,” Conacher said.
“The cynicism, the negativity, the blame on the generation before us economic and career-wise…we don’t accept that as an excuse: we should develop new models that will work in this society.”
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