Iqaluit (Oct 06/03) - A big cheque was written recently to aid in the reconstruction of Joamie school.

It was signed by Northmart, Northwestel and the Northwestel social club, whose members led the way from the start.

They began taking donations while bagging groceries at Northmart one Saturday, shortly after Joamie school burned to the ground July 4.

When the cheque was presented last week inside Nakasuk school where many Joamie school students are attending classes, Napachee McRae, a contact centre representative for Northwestel, noticed the words on the cheque were only in English.

The proud Northerner has a lot of pride for her traditional language, and wasn't afraid to speak out about it.

"It starts at home," she said. "I speak to my kids in Inuktitut at home. Nowadays, kids that grow up here are speaking English more."

Born and raised in Iqaluit, McRae finished her schooling in Churchill, Man. Five years later she got married and settled down again in Iqaluit in December 1989.

The couple now have three children: Patrick, 26, Kerri, 23, and Ningiurapik, 18.

The McRaes came back to Iqaluit to live because "it was home," she said.

McRae doesn't think the city has changed all that much over the years.

"The mood is the same," she said. "But I notice that there are houses now where I used to go berry picking."

McRae laments the alarming crime rate in the city, and the fact that her family recently discovered they have a peeping tom. The person keeps looking through their windows, using an old saw horse outside to stand on.

She had to take matters into her own hands. When she complained to police they told her the culprit may be a friend of one of her kids.

McRae's children attended Joamie school, and like most people in town, McRae was shocked when the school burned down.

She is happy to be a member of the social club at Northwestel, the first local corporation to take action for Joamie after the fire.

"I was proud," she said, after more people started fundraising for Joamie. "I thought, 'Hey, we started something here.'