Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Aklavik (Jan 28/02) - John and Agnes Keenan left their house on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia last fall to come to the North for the year.

Instead of sailing on the turquoise seas back home, they chose to come to Aklavik to help kids with homework.

John and Agnes Keenan sit on the steps of Moose Kerr School, where they're spending the year volunteering. - Lynn Lau/NNSL photo

It might sound like an unusual choice, especially with the temperature dipping to -35 C last week, but then, the Keenans aren't your usual couple.

The retired field geologists have travelled, worked and lived all over Central and South America, Europe and Africa, employed mostly in gold exploration. But after retiring in 1999, they decided to do a bit of extended volunteering.

"We thought we'd like to do something a little more worthwhile," says Agnes (pronounced Iniez), who is originally from Belgium.

They searched the Internet for opportunities to work abroad and they found Frontiers Foundation, a Toronto-based group that sends Canadian and international volunteers to work in aboriginal communities in Canada.

In Aklavik, Moose Kerr School put the Keenans to work, teaching math for the Grade 6 class, special reading for the Grade 7 class, and helping young special needs children. In their spare time, the couple also volunteers at the youth centre and around the community -- John even dressed up as Santa for a Christmas event, and Agnes sewed skirts for a Gwich'in dance performance.

Although they have volunteered in St. Lucia before, this is the first time they've tried their hand teaching. "Obviously, sometimes you get frustrated," Agnes says. "You teach them math and there's a test and what you thought went in, didn't go in."

"Sometimes," John adds, "you wonder if you're actually succeeding."

Despite the Keenans' occasional uncertainty, principal Velma Illasiak says there's no question the students have benefitted.

"The students like it and the parents in the community see the benefit of it," Illasiak says. "We have so many needy kids in our school system, and with the assistants, there's more one-on-one. We can get to the needs quicker, instead of one teacher trying to address all the needs and never being able to capture all of them."

The Frontiers Foundation currently has 17 volunteers placed in the Northwest Territories in Inuvik, Aklavik, Fort McPherson and Rae Edzo.

The communities and the foundation split the cost of transportation, board and lodging for the volunteers. In Aklavik, the Gwich'in band council provided the support to bring the volunteers in.