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Call of the wild

Nunavut youth gain world view and high school credits through travel

KIRSTEN MURPHY
Nunatsiaq News

CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Janet Krimmerdjuar, right, leads a group of Nunavut Youth Abroad Program volunteers during an icebreaker exercise in Iqaluit. (PHOTOS BY KIRSTEN MURPHY)

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Janet Krimmerdjuar stepped off a plane in Swaziland and quickly felt at home.

Krimmerdjuar, then 16 and part of the Nunavut Youth Abroad Program, quickly realized there were many similarities between Inuit and people in the tiny south African country.

Inuit eat caribou and Swazis eat impala. Inuit turn to their elders, Swazis seek their go gos. Inuit live in extreme cold for most of the year, Swazis live in one of the world's hottest climates.

Three years after her southern sojourn, Krimmerdjuar, who lives and works in Pond Inlet, still draws upon her overseas experiences.

"NYAP has helped me a lot, even getting a job," said the petroleum products division clerk.

"I feel more confident. I'm not afraid to say what I think."

A dozen NYAP alumni and volunteers, including Krimmerdjuar, were in Iqaluit from April 25 to 27 for a facilitators training workshop.

The past participants and volunteers came from Iqaluit, Arviat, Arctic Bay, Rankin Inlet and Coral Harbour. Some will be helping with NYAP's trip to Botswana in July.

Krimmerdjuar remains a faithful NYAP volunteer. Upon her return to Nunavut in 2000, she made several presentations to her community and has encouraged another three youth to apply to the program.

NYAP volunteer Sharon Hessian leads the group through a game of Jeopardy.

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Krimmerdjuar's hope is other Nunavummiut between the ages of 16 and 21 will also get involved with the program.

"NYAP shows you a whole new world and opens doors. My trip made me realize Nunavut is awesome. I thought Inuit were seen as poor, but there I saw they don't even have electricity and we do," she said.

"I enjoyed it all. It was like I was dreaming. I couldn't believe I was there."

Each year 22 Nunavummit youth are accepted into one of two NYAP programs. Sixteen youths travel to different parts of Canada to volunteer at summer camps and family resource centres.

Six youths travel to sub-Saharan Africa every July for six weeks. While on their placements, they share aspects of Inuit culture by demonstrating Arctic sports, string games and throat singing.

NYAP alumni Letia Cousins.

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Not only is the program a chance to travel, promote Inuit traditions and develop workplace skills, the experience counts toward the career and technology studies program that is mandatory for high school students.

The pre-trip preparations are long and intense. Youths must complete a number of self-assessment evaluations, apply for their passports, get the necessary inoculations and complete numerous CTS assignments.

The idea is that they will learn to meet deadlines and to take responsibility – all skills that will help them at school and at work.

Brian Suwaksiork of Arviat went to Swaziland in 2001.

"It was fun, but hot," said the future mechanic who worked on a cabbage farm. "A very good experience."

NYAP has sent 30 Nunavut youths to one of two African countries – Swaziland or Botswana – in the past five years. But the program actually began six years ago, with placements across Canada.

Today NYAP offers both Canadian and international placements. The former is a prerequisite for the latter.

Each placement costs an estimated $12,500 per person. Participants must raise $800 on their own, through school and community events. The nominal fee teaches them to promote themselves and the organization, and is an unofficial test to see how committed they are.

It costs about $300,000 to run NYAP annually. The bulk of funding comes from the Government of Nunavut's department of culture, language, elders and youth, Inuit organizations, the federal department of foreign affairs and private donors.

The organization is seeking funding from Nunavut's department of education for the first time this year.

Yvette Scrivener, NYAP's program officer and only paid staff member.

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Unlike other successful travel programs such as Canadian Crossroads International and Canada World Youth, NYAP is specifically designed for Inuit.

"NYAP has a phenomenal reputation. Alumni are having the experience of a lifetime and those experiences are making a difference in the communities participants live in," said Yvette Scrivener, NYAP's program officer.

The group receive five-times more applications than it has spaces – a testament to its success, Scrivener said.

"We want to provide this opportunity to as many people as we can but because we're small and largely volunteer-driven, we're growing incrementally," Scrivener said.

The program's success clearly lies with alumni like Krimmerdjuar.

"NYAP has helped me a lot," she said.

"Getting a job is a lot easier because you have more work and travel experience on your résumé. It taught me budgeting, writing letters, doing presentations, all things you have to have to be organized. I knew if I could do that, I could do anything."

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