Andrea Cnudde
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Aug 09/99) - Ooleepeeka Gordon stands in front of the tall window looking out over Iqaluit and Frobisher Bay.

It's a windy day and the bay is whipped into whitecaps. Whirls of dust are blowing down the street. It's obvious Gordon draws comfort from the familiar view and comfort is her business.

"It's a long time to be away from home," Gordon explains.

"I try to make people as comfortable here as they would be at home."

Gordon is the assistant manager of Tammaatavvik, the boarding home for hospital patients in Iqaluit, where her main occupation is making sure those patients are comfortable.

When you are inside the tall structure on the top of the hill you do feel the hominess of the atmosphere. The sun floods through the high windows in the front common room. Large and airy, Tammaatavvik, which loosely means "place to stay for a while in between," is a good place to stay for that while.

That is due in large to Gordon. From interpreting for patients to staffing concerns, Gordon does a little bit of everything at the 40-bed boarding home. She humbly credits Tammattavvik's staff of 25 people with helping things run smoothly. Gordon herself is very matter-of-fact about the difficulties that might arise when dealing with so many people who are so far from family and home.

"I've been involved with people all my life", Gordon says quietly.

She's no stranger to helping people from out of town who might be feeling out of their element. In the past, Gordon worked at the hospital as a translator and, in this very building, as a student advisor when it was a student residence.

As she walks through the large building, she is proud in an understated way of what has been accomplished here.

"People are pleased to stay here because we make it homey."

Gordon stops once again at the window. She points out the tent on the distant causeway where she spends her weekends.

"The view is really beautiful," she says.

A patient sitting nearby overhears and nods her head. It obviously is.