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DENINU KU'E - A new daycare has opened in Fort Resolution.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in Fort Resolution on Dec. 5 for a new daycare, which is an expanded version of an existing preschool. Angus Beaulieu, a community elder, cut the ribbon. He was accompanied by culture and Chipewyan instructor Violet Bailey, left, acting Chief Louis Balsillie of Deninu Ku'e First Nation and daycare co-ordinator Kim Beck. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Dec. 5 for Li'l Darlin' Daycare, which expands on a part-time preschool that has operated since 1997.

The daycare/preschool is a project of Deninu Ku'e First Nation.

Acting Chief Louis Balsillie said it is really important to have such a service.

"I think this is a benefit to the community and working parents in the community," Balsillie said.

Fort Resolution has not had a daycare since 1994.

The ribbon-cutting was held for Li'l Darlin' Daycare since work has been completed on the renovations and an addition to the building.

It is still to undergo inspections.

The renovations included a new fenced play yard.

Kim Beck, co-ordinator of Li'l Darlin' Daycare, is not sure how many children will be served by the daycare/preschool.

"I would like 12, but there might be a waiting list, I don't know," she said.

It's hoped the facility, which will employ three people, will begin accepting children by the second week of January, said Beck.

The new daycare will be for children aged 18 months to three years and the preschool will be for ages three to five.

Children will be accepted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, and breakfast and lunch will be served.

The preschool, which previously only accepted children for two hours a day, closed in May to allow work to proceed.

Beck noted the preschool, which operated under the name Childcare Initiative Program, started in Deninu School in 1997 and moved to the current location a year or two later.

The preschool, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last summer, has graduated about 130 children into kindergarten over the years.

The new daycare is named after the late Florence Balsillie, who worked at the preschool for seven years before she passed away in 2004.

"Her nickname was darlin', so I named it Li'l Darlin' after her," Beck said.

Dollie Simon, whose two grandchildren will be enrolled in the daycare/preschool, is impressed with the new facility.

"It's beautiful," she said.

Simon is the daughter of Florence Balsillie.

"She's probably looking down and very pleased, especially since her great-grandchildren will be coming here," Simon said.

She added that she and her family are honoured the daycare has been named after her mother.

The project was funded with $70,000 from the federal government's Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy.

Louis Balsillie said parents in the community had been asking for a daycare.

"It's been a long time coming," he said, adding obtaining funding was the biggest problem.

Balsillie plans to send his 16-month-old son to the daycare program.

The new daycare/preschool is important for children, the acting chief said.

"It will get them to mingle with other kids and learn," he said.