Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Fort Norman (Nov 11/02) - It was down to the wire, but two students and a teacher in Tulita now have the funds to embark on an expedition to Antarctica next month.

Not long ago, they still needed almost $30,000 for the trip.

The teenagers, Megan and Kerri McPherson, were selling baked goods like crazy and their teacher, Liz Halina, was scrambling to convince the government to help out.

But the Nov. 15 deadline was fast approaching.

"I was starting to get nervous," said Halina. "November was already here, and here we were $27,000 short. But within two days, we managed to get the rest of our money."

First, the NWT Youth Secretariat donated $5,000 and then the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development called.

"They asked me how the fundraising was going and how short we were," said Halina. "I said we were short $22,000, so that's how much they gave us."

Halina was ecstatic: "It was a good thing I was sitting down."

And when the girls heard, they jumped around the room with excitement.

"I called my mom and my mom started calling everyone," said Megan. "I want to thank all the people who donated."