Wemindji Youth are Ready to Rock
Nicaragua!
By Aidan McCaffrey
The dream is
finally becoming a reality for the students and teachers of Wemindji Rocks
Nicaragua. After months of planning,
hard work, determination and tireless fundraising, the team of ambitious youth
from Wemindji have reached their goal and in just a few short weeks will head
to Central America to embark on a journey that will no doubt change their lives
and the lives of others forever.
On July 6th
2014, the team of 15 students and 5 chaperones will leave Wemindji, starting
their 26 hour journey to Nicaragua. Through the Education First and Me to We social
change organizations, the students will be volunteering in the community of El
Trapiche. The group will be traveling across the world to take part in the
building of either a school or youth centre for a community in need.
The physical
work will be hard but rewarding and the student volunteers will surely come
away with experience and leadership training that they can share with the entire
community of Wemindji. When asked what
she hopes to share with Wemindji once the trip is over, Secondary 3 student
volunteer Cheryl Danyluk says she hopes to inspire others to do more volunteer
work: “You can’t be shy, you have to be
a leader.” Cheryl expresses her passion for volunteerism adding that, “you have
to take it upon yourself to make changes, to become more aware.” To become an
inspiration for others is a common goal for the student volunteers from
Maquatua Eeyou School. Alyssia
Georgekish hopes that by learning more about the world and what is needed by those
less fortunate, she will be able to motivate others to step up and make a
change. The students of MES also hope to learn more about themselves from this
experience. Intrinsic motivation is
important to Austin Georgekish, another Secondary 3 student volunteer. He says his familiarity with helping others
in the past has prepared him for this experience and that he hopes to be able
to recognize need and address it before he is asked to do so. Selena Blackned hopes this trip will help her
to overcome her fears and shyness and become a role model for the many youth of
Wemindji. Neebin Atsynia, excited to
meet new people and explore the world, wants to see more young people helping
out and will bring her experiences back to share with her community.
The excitement
is palpable with the adult chaperones as well.
Brandi Taylor, an MES Secondary teacher and volunteer with the group,
says that now that the financial goals have been reached the focus has shifted
to keeping momentum high and maintaining involvement in the community that has
generously contributed to the cost of the trip.
Fellow trip organizer and teacher Carmen Plank says the group feels
“AMAZING!” having met their $90,000 financial goal and about the hard work the
team has put into getting the trip off the ground. Plank stresses that while this idea was
rooted in education, it is not a school trip, as such, the students had to take
initiative and go into the community outside of school hours to raise awareness
and reach their goals. Community
outreach events such as a town-wide cleanup, serving at the Round Table feast,
pumping gas, carrying out groceries and fulfilling “random acts of kindness”
were all ways that students kept their eyes on the prize and thanked Wemindji
for their charitable contributions. These
community events have helped raise the profile of Wemindji Rocks Nicaragua and have
given students the chance to give back and take a more active role in their
community. Through their ‘good works,’
student participants are able to see the impact their volunteerism has on their
hometown, and how taking social responsibility affects more than just the
individual. A pleasantly unexpected
outcome of such acts of kindness and volunteerism is that these students are
beginning to feel more self-worth and personal responsibility.
The team has also been the
beneficiaries of large and generous donations from a number of entities. Without these donations there would be no
trip, so the Nicaragua team wishes to make their thanks known to the following
corporations and organizations:
- Wemindji Fundraising Committee
- Cree National Government
- Tawich Development Corporation
- Tawich RTN
- Wemindji Youth Council
- Wemindji Band Council
- Wemindji Economic Development
- Cree Nation Youth Department
- Cree Nation Rental Housing
- KEPA Transport
- VCC Massenor
- Kookums and Friends
- Wemindji Wellness Center
- Wemindji Awesome 80’s Club
- Quality Inn, Montreal
- Air Creebec
- All private donors and community contributions to raffle, penny social, bake sale, spaghetti dinners, comedy night, concert and alumni hockey game events.
The work doesn’t stop once the
students return from Nicaragua. Shauna
Simpson, MES teacher and chaperone says the group has plans to encourage
volunteerism and put their social justice and leadership training to use once
they arrive back to Wemindji. “Upon our immediate return we will be hosting a
banquet which will give us the opportunity to demonstrate to families and our
sponsors what we did and learned during our time in Nicaragua, and to express
our extreme gratitude. We will be
looking at touching base with participants in the new school year and calling
on them to participate in and help to create positive
leadership opportunities in Wemindji.” Frank Atsynia, Deputy Chief of the Cree
Nation of Wemindji and a wholehearted supporter since the beginning says “This
is a good opportunity for young people to see what they can offer. To open their eyes and appreciate what they
have.”
