More College of the Rockies (COTR) students will be going to Africa and South America to intern in the future thanks to a $1.23 million federal grant announced at the college Thursday by MP Jim Abbott.

Some $630,000 from the Canadian International Development Agency will be used to send 42 students abroad over the next three years on private sector development to support sustainable tourism and health education in Ecuador, Peru, Kenya and Tanzania.

Another $600,000 will be used under a framework agreement with the Association of Canadian Community Colleges to provide quality vocational training and skills development for workers in the tourism and mining industries in Tanzania.

“I have become absolutely convinced that the key to developing countries is education,” said Abbott during a morning ceremony at the college. “Canada has a world-wide reputation for corporate social responsibility in these kind of ventures.”

Abbott was also full of praise for the role of COTR in securing the international funding.

“The College of the Rockies has a proven track record in implementing international development projects. There is an undeniable dynamic at the College and I’m proud to announce the Canadian government will partner with a globally-engaged college that provides training to workers and offers young Canadians an opportunity to share their knowledge as they carry out work in developing countries.”

Abbott, who is Parliamentary secretary to International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda, said Ottawa has changed its development focus in recent years to South America but still managed to double the aid it’s been giving to Africa over the last five years.

“This project is part of CIDA’s Skills for Employment Initiative which aims to help countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Andean regions establish strong technical and vocational education and training systems in order to build the skilled workforces necessary for economic growth.”

The projects also help to lift the countries out of the cycle of poverty that is endemic in many southern hemisphere countries, Abbott said.

But the projects also do a lot for the intern students themselves, said COTR President Nick Rubidge. “When the students come back it’s truly life-changing. It completely changes the direction they want to go in because as students they’ve often had trouble getting attached to the Canadian labour force and feeling a little bit lost. Then they come back and it just changes their whole perception of the world.”

Rubidge said many of the international students end up pursuing careers in the international development field after having the experience of being an international student intern in Africa.

Some of the international intern students travel from village to village by bicycle working on anti-AIDS programs, community health projects and infrastructure upgrades. And their presence is always appreciated, he said.

“Because they’re obviously foreign, the villages receive them incredibly warmly and they might even listen to them a bit more than one of their own,” said Rubidge.

Pat Bowron , executive director for international affairs at the college, said one of the greatest values of the international intern program is the impact it has. not only on the countries receiving aid, but on the students helping to provide it.

“International assistance is truly transformational and helps to create long term sustainable solutions,” she said.

In recent years, COTR has seen a 10 to 12 per cent increase in students taking the international program and the college has managed six international projects with funding provided by CIDA.