We are second week into camp and boy has it been an adventure! So far we’ve managed to survive a flu attack (my partner unfortunately got sick and had to miss most of the first week as well as set-up) and a water shortage. There is no inter-connecting piping system in the town; each house is an independent plumbing unit. Water is delivered several times by a truck, and that same truck also literally sucks out all the sewage from the house through a pipe. And you do not want to be around any sinks or toilets when that happens, since all the smell is lifted into the air. (I learned from experience.) During the time that we’ve lived in this house, water ran out twice –even once while I was in the middle of shampooing my hair. I had to wait until I got to the office to rinse out the dried-up crusty shampoo residue in the bathroom sink.
Camp is going spectacularly well, although we’ve had a few ups and downs. The kids are generally very enthusiastic about everything, especially gym time. In the past few days, we’ve made sure that they do lots of running in gym time just to wear off their energy to a manageable level. A typical day starts with quiet reading time and one or two group circle games. We then divide the group into two, one subgroup stays with Patrick and me for English literacy activities while the other subgroup learns Inuktitut from the local leaders. The subgroups then switches the next day. Then everyone goes to the gym for some active games, followed by a nutritious snack, and finally by a craft.
In regards to the literacy activities- with the younger camp, we’ve done group readings, writing exercises (such as writing a sentence related to the story, and then drawing a picture), spelling relay-races with magnetic letters on the whiteboard, and reading comprehension trivia games. The older campers have seen an array of literacy-based games such as Scattergories, Boggle, and spelling relays, as well as group readings. Moving forward, we will be directing the older camp more towards writing skill-building, since that is the area that appears to be lacking in our campers. We plan to accomplish this by creative writing exercises, “words of the day”, book-making, and perhaps letter-writing to the literacy camps in other localities. The younger campers will probably be divided into two groups based on skill levels and age– since the campers range from Grade 1 to Grade 5. The younger group will probably focus more on phonics and word-recognition while the older group can be directed towards more rigorous reading and writing tasks.
In the room I’m staying in, there hangs poster with the following quote – “Time is not measured by clocks, but by moments.” Indeed this sums up my camp experience so far – it is the moments that make my day. Moments such as having kids begging to stay longer after the day ends, seeing kids fighting over who gets to read the next page of the story book to the group, and even watching a girl break down in tears and tell me that she “sometimes just feels lonely” – knowing that she trusts me enough to tell me that. The moments are worth all the logistical nightmares, the strenuous planning, and yes, even the shampoo disasters.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Just "Chilling"
Two weeks down, eight more t0 go!
“Cool” things I’ve done so far (no pun intended):
- I ate caribou, including the tongue, which is considered the best part of the animal. Caribou meat is usually boiled and then dipped in soy sauce, or made into a stew with vegetables. It tasted a lot like beef actually.
- I rode on the frozen lake in a wooden sleigh towed by a Ski-doo. When the weather is colder and the ice is more solidified, dogs are sometimes used to drag the sleighs. We went with one of the locals, his nephew and his nephew’s friend. They were kind enough to show Patrick and me their fishing cabin, on an island in the middle of the lake. Since ice was slightly melted, the sleigh got stuck amongst the slush during our journey, and we had to pull it to a firmer part of the ice. That was quite the experience!
- I drove a Honda ATV out in the land. I was petty terrified actually, as I don’t even know how to drive a car. Patrick and I were stuck in the middle of nowhere for about half-an-hour, unable to start the vehicle, and then we discovered that we simply forgot to turn on the air valve!
What I have learned about Baker Lake so far:
Baker Lake is the only inland community in Nunavut. It isn’t on the coast, thus seal-hunting is out of the picture. However it is situated beside a lake called, you guessed it, Baker Lake. And this allows for some great fishing to take place all year round. The town has 2000 people, 1 elementary school, 1 high school, 4 churches, 2 mining companies, 16 Inuktitut dialects, and 1 common past-time: being “out on the land”. This can refer to hours, days, or weeks of fishing or hunting outside of the community, often in family cabins.
The community has changed drastically in the recent years, especially since the introduction of the mining companies. English is the language of the youth, and Inuktitut is the language of the elders. Youths are strongly influenced by Southern pop culture and technology. I saw quite a number of iPod touches. Patrick and I had our neighbours over for dinner today , they’re a white couple that have been here for 11 years. The husband is an IT specialist for the school board, while the wife teaches Grade 12. They told us that the presence of technology has really increased in the community during the time that they were here. When I asked whether it was because people were able to afford technology more so now than before, they responded, “Nope, it’s never really been affordable, but ya know it’s just the latest thing, and people have got to have it!”
We also learned from them that high school graduation rate is about 30%, and this is steadily increasing, so there is definitely positive change happening in the community. The main issue facing Inuit people isn’t the lack of employment opportunities. In fact the government alone provides more jobs than can be filled. As a result, many teaching and policing positions are offered to Southerners. It takes an average of 280 days to fill a government job opening, simply because there aren’t enough qualified personnel, and there lies the big problem – Not enough people have the necessary education to be employed. And that’s where projects like our literacy camp come in…
The Project
Tomorrow is the first day of camp! I am flooded with excitement, anxiety, and anticipation for how we can tackle those super energetic kids. In the past week, we’ve hired our two local leaders: one is a mother of three that has been part of the camp in the past, and is extensively involved with the community and its youths; the other is a young woman that has volunteered in British Columbia and Botswana as part of the Northern Youth Abroad program, and has applied to St. Lawrence College in Kingston for Business Management. They are a splendid addition to our team, and are filled with ideas and knowledge about how to work with the local kids. Together we unpacked boxes upon boxes of books in our preparation for the camps. The books are now sitting in neatly organized bins in the designated “reading corner”, waiting to be fumbled through by eager little thumbs…
“Cool” things I’ve done so far (no pun intended):
- I ate caribou, including the tongue, which is considered the best part of the animal. Caribou meat is usually boiled and then dipped in soy sauce, or made into a stew with vegetables. It tasted a lot like beef actually.
- I rode on the frozen lake in a wooden sleigh towed by a Ski-doo. When the weather is colder and the ice is more solidified, dogs are sometimes used to drag the sleighs. We went with one of the locals, his nephew and his nephew’s friend. They were kind enough to show Patrick and me their fishing cabin, on an island in the middle of the lake. Since ice was slightly melted, the sleigh got stuck amongst the slush during our journey, and we had to pull it to a firmer part of the ice. That was quite the experience!
- I drove a Honda ATV out in the land. I was petty terrified actually, as I don’t even know how to drive a car. Patrick and I were stuck in the middle of nowhere for about half-an-hour, unable to start the vehicle, and then we discovered that we simply forgot to turn on the air valve!
What I have learned about Baker Lake so far:
Baker Lake is the only inland community in Nunavut. It isn’t on the coast, thus seal-hunting is out of the picture. However it is situated beside a lake called, you guessed it, Baker Lake. And this allows for some great fishing to take place all year round. The town has 2000 people, 1 elementary school, 1 high school, 4 churches, 2 mining companies, 16 Inuktitut dialects, and 1 common past-time: being “out on the land”. This can refer to hours, days, or weeks of fishing or hunting outside of the community, often in family cabins.
The community has changed drastically in the recent years, especially since the introduction of the mining companies. English is the language of the youth, and Inuktitut is the language of the elders. Youths are strongly influenced by Southern pop culture and technology. I saw quite a number of iPod touches. Patrick and I had our neighbours over for dinner today , they’re a white couple that have been here for 11 years. The husband is an IT specialist for the school board, while the wife teaches Grade 12. They told us that the presence of technology has really increased in the community during the time that they were here. When I asked whether it was because people were able to afford technology more so now than before, they responded, “Nope, it’s never really been affordable, but ya know it’s just the latest thing, and people have got to have it!”
We also learned from them that high school graduation rate is about 30%, and this is steadily increasing, so there is definitely positive change happening in the community. The main issue facing Inuit people isn’t the lack of employment opportunities. In fact the government alone provides more jobs than can be filled. As a result, many teaching and policing positions are offered to Southerners. It takes an average of 280 days to fill a government job opening, simply because there aren’t enough qualified personnel, and there lies the big problem – Not enough people have the necessary education to be employed. And that’s where projects like our literacy camp come in…
The Project
Tomorrow is the first day of camp! I am flooded with excitement, anxiety, and anticipation for how we can tackle those super energetic kids. In the past week, we’ve hired our two local leaders: one is a mother of three that has been part of the camp in the past, and is extensively involved with the community and its youths; the other is a young woman that has volunteered in British Columbia and Botswana as part of the Northern Youth Abroad program, and has applied to St. Lawrence College in Kingston for Business Management. They are a splendid addition to our team, and are filled with ideas and knowledge about how to work with the local kids. Together we unpacked boxes upon boxes of books in our preparation for the camps. The books are now sitting in neatly organized bins in the designated “reading corner”, waiting to be fumbled through by eager little thumbs…
Monday, June 7, 2010
Hello world!
A week in Baker Lake, Nunavut, and I am proud to say that I haven’t been eaten by a polar bear yet! I digress from my bad humour and assure you that polar bears, though vicious, are usually not seen around communities and are very rare in this part of the land. Even though, my project partner Patrick and I were told by community members that we came one day too late to see the muskoxen. (Plural for muskox, thanks dictionary.com!) There was a band of them spotted on a sheet of ice very close to the town, the closest that they have came to the community in years. One woman told us that at first she didn’t believe her friend that told her the muskoxen were on the ice, and asked him if he was sure that he didn’t just see a bunch of barrels rolling on the ice.
The weather here is unexpectedly warm, especially for the past two days. It was close to 15 degrees Celsius, and the sun blazed down on the land for a solid 23 hours each day, and was dimmed for the one hour of semi-darkness. The mother of Patrick’s host family joked that we brought the good weather with us from the South. But just as we were about to smile, we were labeled as “fresh meat” for the mosquitoes that come in next month, as Baker Lake is the unofficial mosquito capital of Canada.
Patrick and I spent the last week meeting and working closely with the staff at Kavalliq School Operations, the school board in the region, to prepare for the camps that are to start on June 14th and last until July 30th. We will be hosting daily literacy-focused free day camps to children in the area, with two hours devoted to 6-9 year olds, two hours to 10-12 year olds, and youth camp for two evenings each week. The camps focus on instilling literacy appreciation, providing a positive and safe environment, and helping kids to see that learning can be fun! This is especially important since education is often under-valued in the North, and children lack structured activities in the summer.
We met the principal of the elementary school yesterday, since we are using the school facilities for our camps. He is a very helpful and friendly gentleman, and offered Patrick and I the opportunity to shadow teachers and to speak at the school award ceremony next Tuesday to advertise our camps. We met the high school principal today, and were granted permission to speak to the Grade Sixes on Monday and the rest of the school at the award ceremony on Wednesday. Patrick and I were also busy advertising for local leader hiring, since we will be hiring two local youths fluent in Inuktitut and English to help us run the camps to ensure the incorporation of Inuktitut literacy in our programs. We went around town putting up posters, and we will be interviewing them next week.
The people here are incredibly warm. The mother of Patrick’s host family drove us out onto the land surrounding the town and showed us various sites. We also attended a barbeque that her family had out on the rocks. There were about 30 people, including many children, and this was only a small sector of her extended family. The kids here are also super energetic. When we went to the schools and visited the classrooms, the kids would crowd around us and eagerly ask us when camp will start. We would get stopped on the roads and at the grocery store by kids calling our names.
The upcoming week will be filled with local leader hiring, setting up for camp, and lots and lots of sun.
The weather here is unexpectedly warm, especially for the past two days. It was close to 15 degrees Celsius, and the sun blazed down on the land for a solid 23 hours each day, and was dimmed for the one hour of semi-darkness. The mother of Patrick’s host family joked that we brought the good weather with us from the South. But just as we were about to smile, we were labeled as “fresh meat” for the mosquitoes that come in next month, as Baker Lake is the unofficial mosquito capital of Canada.
Patrick and I spent the last week meeting and working closely with the staff at Kavalliq School Operations, the school board in the region, to prepare for the camps that are to start on June 14th and last until July 30th. We will be hosting daily literacy-focused free day camps to children in the area, with two hours devoted to 6-9 year olds, two hours to 10-12 year olds, and youth camp for two evenings each week. The camps focus on instilling literacy appreciation, providing a positive and safe environment, and helping kids to see that learning can be fun! This is especially important since education is often under-valued in the North, and children lack structured activities in the summer.
We met the principal of the elementary school yesterday, since we are using the school facilities for our camps. He is a very helpful and friendly gentleman, and offered Patrick and I the opportunity to shadow teachers and to speak at the school award ceremony next Tuesday to advertise our camps. We met the high school principal today, and were granted permission to speak to the Grade Sixes on Monday and the rest of the school at the award ceremony on Wednesday. Patrick and I were also busy advertising for local leader hiring, since we will be hiring two local youths fluent in Inuktitut and English to help us run the camps to ensure the incorporation of Inuktitut literacy in our programs. We went around town putting up posters, and we will be interviewing them next week.
The people here are incredibly warm. The mother of Patrick’s host family drove us out onto the land surrounding the town and showed us various sites. We also attended a barbeque that her family had out on the rocks. There were about 30 people, including many children, and this was only a small sector of her extended family. The kids here are also super energetic. When we went to the schools and visited the classrooms, the kids would crowd around us and eagerly ask us when camp will start. We would get stopped on the roads and at the grocery store by kids calling our names.
The upcoming week will be filled with local leader hiring, setting up for camp, and lots and lots of sun.
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