I found myself surrounded by more than 200 Neighbourhood Heroes last Saturday.

Eighty-four of these "heroes" were WorldSmart -- formerly known as Up With People -- students. The other hundred plus were Nanaimo Host Parents who had offered accommodation and support; people who all say they received much more than they gave; people without whom, this remarkable program could not exist.

Last Saturday was September 11, 2004. Exactly three years earlier, millions of people around the world lost their hope for a peaceful future as first one plane and then another crashed into the World Trade Center.

Then, last Saturday, exactly three years later, at Swy-a-Lana Lagoon, that vision of a possible peace-filled future was reborn for several hundreds of us who gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of the eighty-four WorldSmart students from twenty-four countries who spent last week with us here in Nanaimo.

Their visit will be remembered for years to come because of the legacy they left behind. They spent two days working on a Nicol Street Beautification Program, a Boys and Girls Club mural, a Linley Valley trail improvement project, and a Milner Gardens project.

The WorldSmart Leadership Program’s primary goal is to develop, inspire and transform young people from around the world into future leaders and global citizens, citizens who will be committed to world peace.

The positive energy among these students is contagious. Within minutes of meeting them, most of us felt certain that the program is meeting its primary goal and much more. Then when we began to realize that, year after year, close to 200 similar students will go through this program and return home to plant seeds of peace, love and altruism, we knew deep down that there is hope for the future of our world.

The nineteen-week WorldSmart program offers a one-semester university credit and takes students into eighteen cities, eighteen host families, seven countries, and three regions of the world - Europe, Asia and North America.

These students are all leaders in their communities and vary from an eighteen-year-old university student, to a twenty-two-year-old articling lawyer, to a mid-twenties therapist with a Ph.D. in family therapy, to a twenty nine year old who recently succeeded in bringing the first-ever well to his village in Kenya.

If you are between eighteen and twenty-nine, and find this program of interest, you can learn more at www.worldsmart.org.

No matter what your age, you can sign up now to become future Host Parents. Approximately 100 students will be returning to Nanaimo in the next few years -- One of the leaders told me he expects to return next year. Host Parents are essential if the program is to succeed, and I guarantee that through this experience you will receive much more in return than you give.

Here are some of comments from a few of this year's Host Parents.

"When you interact with so many positive people that want to make a difference in the world -- and are doing it -- it gives you a real sense of confidence in the direction our world is going." -- Paul Geneau.

"Their enthusiasm really was catching." - Jack Pagani.

"I thought there might be challenges around scheduling, getting people to and fro, but that all worked like a charm; it's well organized." - Mike Donnelly.

"It was awesome; it was like having a big family." - Rod Smith.

"At first I wondered about us taking in four young girls, but now I think, the more the better!" - Marianne Turley.

If you would like to be a WorldSmart Host Parent next time WorldSmart comes to town, email me at bill@nhero.org and I'll make sure your name gets on the appropriate list.

To nominate a Neighbourhood Hero or to read old columns, go to www.nhero.org.