Members of a First Nations youth leadership group from Penticton, B.C., are headed to Scotland to paddle the North Sea.

The Kwu Sukwna'qinx Canoe Family is a group of 13 girls and two boys, aged 11 to 18, from the Penticton Indian Band.

The group was created in the hopes of empowering and inspiring young First Nations people to tackle challenges and overcome significant personal obstacles.

Chantelle Desjarlais, 17, helped form the organization in 2007.

"The first thing we wanted to do was go help out with the hurricane relief, but we were too young to do that. Then we wanted to build homes for Habitat for Humanity, but we were turned down because of our age," Desjarlais said.

So the group turned to canoeing.

Biggest trip yet

They raised money to buy their own canoe and have been on two week-long expeditions. But their next trip is the biggest yet.

The group is flying to Scotland to paddle the North Sea as part of the 2009 Spirit Dancer Canoe Journeys.

It's the brainchild of Chris Cooper, who is attempting to circumnavigate the British Isles.

Each year for three months, he's taking alternating teams of paddlers from Canada and the U.K. on separate legs of the journey.

By participating in the second leg of the journey, Desjarlais said she hopes the Kwu Sukwna'qinx Canoe Family can be an inspiration to First Nations youth.

"It opens up doors for us because we have found people who excel in money management, in media, and it's canoeing that's brought out those skills in us," she said.

Jim Michie, an officer with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, presented the group with a steersman paddle for their journey on Friday.

"They want to participate, they want to help and I think that's what's made them so special to us," Michie said.

The group's canoe journey starts May 6 in Glasgow.

They'll travel along the coast, finishing in the Orkney Islands, off Scotland's northern coast, on July 1.