SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro said she saw a similarity between social problems in the NWT and those that plague the African country of Kenya during a recent trip there, which she described as "professional development" and a learning experience.

"We may not have the sort of huge glaring slums that some of the developing countries do, but we certainly have people who are struggling and who are in need of assistance," said Bisaro.

She was in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to participate in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association's 56th annual conference from Sept. 9 to 20, along with Speaker Paul Delorey, as representatives of the NWT legislative assembly.

Delorey was not available for comment by press time.

Bisaro said she did not get the opportunity during her time in Nairobi to visit the worst parts of the city, but some of the other delegates of the association did and showed her pictures and told her of what they saw.

From that she said she noticed some of the same issues outstanding in NWT communities.

While in Nairobi Bisaro stayed at the Fairmont the Norfolk, one of the city's "finest and best-known" hotels, according to Fairmont's website. Room rates there range from US$259 to $609 a night.

"We may have good drinking water and access to electricity and that sort of thing, but we've got people who are struggling for their housing, they're struggling for their food, they're struggling to look after their kids," said Bisaro.

"Those problems, to me, are universal, and ours are a little bit different but we still have those problems and that's what we need to fix."

As part of the annual conference, Bisaro took part in a seminar of the commonwealth women parliamentarians, where she was the official delegate from the NWT.

She also took part in a conference of "small branches," which includes regions with less than 500,000 residents. The Yukon and Prince Edward Island also had delegates present for these.

When Yellowknifer spoke with her on Monday, Bisaro said she was still in the process of creating a document detailing what she learned on her trip, some of which she thinks can be applied to the North.

She said she wanted to have her thoughts on the trip fully collected before commenting on specific items and discussions she had with other delegates on policy and internal procedures.

In general, she said, it was "good to reflect on how other cultures deal with similar issues."

The price tag for the trip was estimated to be between $10,000 and $15,000 by Tim Mercer, the clerk of the legislative assembly, before the two MLAs left for the conference.

When Yellowknifer spoke with Mercer on Monday he said the actual dollar amount the trip had cost had not yet tallied.

Delorey's airfare was paid for by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, to which the GNWT pays a yearly membership fee. This year's fee was $12,098.

Bisaro said she thought the trip was worth the time and money.

"I'm a firm believer in the benefits of interacting with people who are doing the same job as you but they're doing it in a different place in a different way," she said.

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