Love lavished on daycare
'Exciting to know that we played a part in making this a better place'
Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 28, 2014
KUGLUKTUK/COPPERMINE
Three new board members, dedicated staff and community generosity and sweat brought an ailing and crippled daycare back to life.
Connor Adjun, left, Hannah Anderson, Seth Adjun and Harry Hanak, being held by caregiver Lorraine Hikomak, enjoy the benefits of a rejuvenated community daycare in Kugluktuk. - photo courtesy of Kakayak Daycare 2014 |
"That daycare needed love," said vice-chairperson Wynter Kuliktana.
When Kakayak Daycare closed last summer, enrolment was falling, parents had safety concerns, staff retention was impossible, its educational value was questionable and finances were in disarray.
Fast forward one year and Kugluktuk has a success story on its hands.
The love showered on the project shows in increased enrolment, happier children, confident parents and steady staff.
"All the renos did get completed, all by women," said Kuliktana, who has a three-year-old son. "And a couple of our husbands. They put in a couple of hours on the hard parts."
The team fixed the finances, including a new administrator and operations manager, Allison Brown and Claudia Artiga respectively.
"We were in bad standing for a few years, and not receiving our government funding. When we came on board, these are all the things we had found out about the daycare," said Kuliktana.
"Having two qualified ladies made a huge difference. And we've managed to have them stick around."
Both took part in the renos and both have signed new one-year contracts. Caregivers - Janice Aviak and Lorraine Hikomak - have been on board consistently.
Brown is responsible for the legal and financial viability of the daycare, while Artiga looks after staff and programming.
"We fixed all the cracks in the walls, painted all the walls, got new windows installed - some of them were cracked and broken, with plexiglass on both sides," said Brown. "We had drafts coming in through the doors, so we fixed those. All of our major appliances were replaced through donations."
Volunteers from the community also helped with the actual work on the building.
All learning materials and toys were replaced.
"The toys were old, outdated, not challenging - we have more educational-based materials instead of just playing dolls," said Brown. "We really encourage exploring. When we bring out a new toy we can explain. For example toys from the four food groups ... we'll put them in our little grocery store in the kitchen area and we can talk about why it's important to eat from the four food groups."
Children previously played with plastic french fries, hotdogs and hamburgers.
Kuliktana said the staff has been great.
"We've got such a great team. We've had very little turnover, compared to what it was before - we were struggling every day to find people to come in to work."
Now eligible to apply for funding, the daycare has received Healthy Children Initiative funds.
"That's to hire an elder to come in every day for 12 weeks," said Brown. "They'll be helping with cultural education - teaching Innuinaqtun, drumdancing, sewing and talk about fishing and hunting."
Kakayak has the capacity to care for 24 preschool-aged children and four infants. The reno resulted in 18 children in care last year, as compared to about 10 before changes were made.
Children who attended the day care before and after are pleased.
"We had one boy who's been coming here since he was just a toddler - he's going into Grade 1 this year - but this is the first year that he's actually been wanting to come to the daycare, and wants to stay late."
The changes are equally rewarding for staff, said Brown. She is confident that the children moving on from the daycare are ready to be in school.
"They're ready to take on the next step in their life. It's really exciting to know that we played a part in making this a better place.
"It's a whole different daycare," Brown said.
