Daniel T'seleie
Northern News Services

Ottawa (July 18/05) - It took nearly three months for Charlotte Qamaniq-Mason to walk across Canada, but the Iglulik youth wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world.

She was one of eight people who made the trek from Duncan, B.C. to Ottawa as part of the Youth Suicide Prevention Walk. "We really walked," Qamaniq-Mason said of the journey, which started on March 27.

In its third year of a four-year project, the walk raises awareness of youth suicide in Canadian communities.

Qamaniq-Mason, who now lives in Ottawa, heard about it last year, when she met participants at a pow-wow in Ottawa. She and another young lady from Nunavik were the first Inuit to participate in the walk.

"Being from Nunavut and knowing the suicide rate is seven times higher than the national average," encouraged her to get involved this year.

The 19-year-old, who plans on attending Nunavut Sivuniksavut next year, feels just knowing people care will help people turn away from suicide as a solution to their problems.

It was more than just walking across the country. The participants also gave presentations in numerous locations.

This year, they spoke at more than 50 schools, juvenile detention centres, friendship centres, and other venues across the country, mostly on reserves. There was a culminating presentation at the parliament building in Ottawa on June 21.

"A lot of people don't want to talk about (suicide) or don't like to talk about it because it's a very sensitive subject," Qamaniq-Mason said. "If you don't talk about it, it's just going to keep building up inside, and that's when it gets really bad."

The speakers, all young people, received no training before they set out.

"We just said whatever was on our mind," Qamaniq-Mason said.

They gave their first talk on the very first day of the walk, March 28.

"It was really hard," Qamaniq-Mason said. "All I said was my name and where I was from, and I'd already started crying."

Participants on the walk had plenty of time to discuss the problem of youth suicide in Canada. Some young people grow up in abusive environments in Nunavut, Qamaniq-Mason said.

There should be more youth centres, open 24-hours, for kids who need to get out of their house, Qamaniq-Mason said. Keeping kids busy with sports and other activities also helps by raising their self-esteem and giving them an opportunity to talk with other people, she said.