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Working to reopen daycare in Kugluktuk Board members want to make the facility safer and cleaner for children and staff
Miranda Scotland
Northern News Services
Published Monday, August 19, 2013
KUGLUKTUK/COPPERMINE
The board of the Kakayak Daycare has been working to make the centre safer and more sanitary since shutting it down last month.
Wynter Kuliktana, vice-chairperson of the board, said the members decided to close the doors after the number of children attending started to dwindle.
"Parents were so uncertain on the safety and the education of their kids," said Kuliktana, adding there were also issues with unsanitary conditions, administrative work, equipment and staff.
"We only had one full-time staff at the daycare. All the rest were casuals and every morning ... was spent calling people and finding people to come in to the daycare and see if they can work."
Work has been done to solve these problems since the board members took
their positions in March.
New staff have been hired, including a full-time manager, and they continue to look for another full-time employee.
An orientation is being planned for the staff to educate the newcomers and re-energize the old workers, said Kuliktana.
The board has reached out to community organizations for help in sprucing up the centre.
Local companies have donated drywall mud, primer, paint, a fridge and a dishwasher.
Kuliktana said they are still hoping to get a stove, washer and dryer.
"All of our appliances needed to be replaced," she said. "Most of them weren't working."
The centre's administrative duties and bookkeeping has been caught up.
The board members, she said, are quite pleased with how much has been accomplished.
"We've been working so hard the last couple of weeks. We had a meeting last night and we finally felt like we were actually getting somewhere because it's taken so long," she said.
"You've got to write the letters and ask for help and it's just been an in-flood of good news and help from the community."
Once the centre's facelift is finished, the members' plan to focus on finding more ways to bring culture into the daycare.
In particular, they want to see a greater use of inuinnaqtun.
Kuliktana said the board had wanted to reopen the daycare by the start of school on Aug. 19, there is too much work left to be done.
No new opening date has been chosen at this time.
Shannon Case said she had hoped to see the daycare start up this week.
During the summer, her niece looked after her five-year-old, but now she's back at school. Her son is starting kindergarten and will be in school for half of the day.
The rest of the time, he will need someone to look after him until the daycare opens again. Nonetheless, Case said she is pleased the board decided to make improvements to the centre.
"It's going to be a nice change for the kids," she said. "It needed work."
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