SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Thanks to support from students and staff at Yellowknife Catholic Schools and the Union of Northern Workers, a four-year-old Mexican girl may someday be able to walk.

On Wednesday, Grade 6 students at Weledeh presented Barry Talbot with a cheque for more than $2,000 to go towards surgery for Ariam Guadalupe Ortega of Esperanza, Mexico. Union of Northern Workers president Todd Parsons donated $1,000 on behalf of the union and an additional $500 was donated from the union's school support staff branch.

Ariam Guadalupe Ortega, 4, of the small Mexican village of Esperanza, has cerebral palsy and underdeveloped leg tendons. Yellowknifers donated the money for an operation on her legs in hopes she will be able to walk. - photo courtesy of Barry Talbot

The Grade 6 class held a Tiki Tropical Fiesta on June 10, featuring an egg toss, pie-throwing contest and tug of war, to raise money. Student Destiny Shae said the class sent out letters to request donations. McDonald's donated juice and M & M Meats donated burgers and hotdogs.

"She's less fortunate and we thought about what we could do for her," said Jackie Diveky-Wells of Ortega.

"We dressed up as fiesta people," said fellow student Hansika Jhankur.

"We care about her," said Shae. "I think our class got really attached to her."

St. Patrick High School also raised roughly $800 through their Interact Club.

"I teach hair at St. Pat's, so I was doing some cuts on my spares and I took donations for it," said Steve Payne, an instructor with the Kimberlite Career and Technical Centre, part of YCS. He was able to raise $300.

Another $1,333 came from students in Grades 3 to 5 at St. Joseph School, raised through a bake sale, flea market, pizza and book sale.

"We take walking for granted, but she can't do it," said Grade 4 student Sarah Hart.

"If you didn't get to walk you wouldn't have any fun," added Grade 5 student Noah Lumsden.

Ortega has cerebral palsy and underdeveloped leg tendons. On May 21 the operation went ahead and, according to her doctor, was a success. The objective is to give Ortega enough control of her legs that she will be able to get around on her own with the use of a walker or crutches.

YCS learned of the young girl through Talbot, who has made numerous trips to Mexico in order to donate wheelchairs. During his last delivery of wheelchairs to the small Mexican village of Esperanza last April, Talbot met Ortega and her mother Karen. The girl was in need of surgery in order to be able to walk. Her mother had saved only a couple hundred dollars of the thousands needed for the surgery.

The total cost for the surgery was $1,637 and the amount raised for Ortega will be around $5,000.

"She's going to need a lot of therapy and stuff and her mom doesn't have any money," said Talbot.

"She doesn't live in the city, she lives in a village, so she'll need to find a way into the city for therapy and stuff like that. So the plan is for the Rotary Club to allot her, from that extra money, money for travel and stuff like that."

The money is going through the YCS office and being wired to the Rotary Club in Obergon, Mexico, which will distribute the funds to Ortega.