Light from afar
Nunavut youth share culture, tradition

Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (July 28/99) - Discovering a new culture has been an eye-opening experience for the three Kivalliq girls who are part of the Nunavut Youth Abroad program's International Phase in Swaziland, Africa.

Adrianna Clark of Rankin Inlet, Abbygail Noah of Baker Lake and Roxanne Baker of Arviat are in Swaziland with Arctic Bay's Geine Kigutikajuk and Priscilla Allurut. The group have started their job placement activities and are enjoying experiencing a new culture in Africa.

Clark says the group's journey began as they travelled to St. Joseph's Mission, a trip filled with scenic beauty and wild animals.

"On our way we stopped at the country's largest city and we were overwhelmed by the amount of people," says Clark. "The country is the size of New Jersey with a population of more than a million."

The group completed its wondrous journey and finally arrived at the mission, the place they will call home for a month. They were given a tour of the mission before settling down and selecting the volunteer jobs they will be working at during their stay.

"Roxanne is a secretary for the mission office, Priscilla is working half-time with severely disabled children and half a day at a computer training class, Jean is working in the optical department selling glasses to the locals, Abbygail works at the blind school making materials and diagrams for blind students and I work for physiotherapy and first aid," says Clark.

"We all enjoy our jobs and are happy to lend a hand where it is really needed."

Clark says the people of Swaziland are very friendly and are making the group feel right at home. She says local children like to feel their skin because its colour is so different, they think its feel must be too.

"They give us lots of hugs and are so cute."

Clark says the group has realized how much Canadians take for granted, which other people live without.

"One thing we really miss is a washing machine. We all have to scrub our clothes clean outside on a scrubbing board and them hang them out to dry."

Clark says the people of Swaziland are fascinated with Nunavut, especially the snow. Her group did a presentation on life in Canada's Arctic and the gifts they brought were quickly snapped up by the locals.

"We went to a hall where all the high school students sang their traditional songs for us. It was breathtaking. They are amazing singers. We introduced ourselves in front of the whole group and, after we said our name, they would clap and cheer like we scored the winning goal in a game.

"They taught us to dance to the songs they sing. It was really neat and we all had a blast.

This is the reason we came on this trip -- to learn a different lifestyle and try a different culture while teaching them ours. We are quickly making friends and having the time of our lives.

"Thank you NYAP and all the sponsors for your support. This is a summer we'll never forget."