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KIVALLIQ
A counselling group led by Noel Kaludjak of the Coral Harbour Angutiit Makigiangninga (Men Rising Up) paid its first visit to the community of Chesterfield Inlet this past month.

Andre Tautu and Thomas Ublriak, right, share a laugh at Tautu's home during the Coral Harbour Men's Group visit to Chesterfield Inlet this past month. - photo courtesy of Noel Kaludjak

The three-day visit was originally intended to have five members of Angutiit Makigiangninga attend, but numerous date changes for the trip and personal commitments combined to cut that number to one.

Kaludjak was joined in Chester by fellow Kivalliq addictions counselling-and-healing supporters Thomas Ublriak and Bobby Suluk of Arviat, David Nuluk and Donat Milortok of Repulse Bay, Gerard Maktar of Whale Cove, and Martin Kreelak, Thomas Tutanuak and Thomas Anirniq of Baker Lake.

The group met at the Victor Sammurtok School gym and Kaludjak said although the local turnout was a bit on the small side, the group's first visit to the community was very successful.

He said the visitors also held community services at the gym each of the three nights they were in Chester.

"The turnout was a little low for the first two services, but it was really, really great the last night we were there," said Kaludjak.

"It's not just the actual meetings, themselves, that help, it's us going to encourage a community to work on whatever problems it may have.

"We want them to know the other communities care, and we're not leaving them out of our efforts.

"Communities share many of the same problems, and we want people to know we're like a whole family trying to overcome our problems and have a better life."

Kaludjak said he's received a lot of positive feedback from people in Chester since the group's visit.

He said the trip provided hope that something can happen in their community to help them deal with the same addiction problems the group sees in each-and-every community it visits.

"This will, definitely, not be our only visit to Chester. We'll look for other means to visit them again.

"We already notified them we'll be back, and the more people who know what we're trying to do, the bigger attendance we get in a community."

The Coral group is hoping to visit Rankin Inlet during the first or second week of April.

After that, Kaludjak said most of their time will be focused on preparing for their large annual gathering in Coral this coming Aug. 16 to 20.

He said he expects the 2012 gathering to be the biggest one to date.

"There's some funding available to hold a special event for residential school survivors, and we plan to hold one during our August gathering.

"We'll be inviting three or four supporters from outside of our region to this gathering, and we don't usually do that.

"We also hope to be inviting more people from each Kivalliq community than we have in the past.

"There will be numerous activities during the gathering, including both community and on-the-land events related to traditional values, suicide prevention, and healthy living and families."

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