Rankin Inlet (Mar 17/04) - Two Rankin Inlet students have caught the sprit of voluntarism.

Grade 7 student Jenna Lee Kasaluak, 12, and Grade 4 student Mary Lou Angidlik, 9, started volunteering at the Kataujaq Day Care this past month.

The two students come to the daycare after school every Thursday to spend about an hour with the kids.

The two begin by performing a number of songs themselves, and then begin to teach the children how to throat sing.

Kasaluak says she wants to improve her own talents as a throat singer. She saw volunteering at the daycare as a good way to get in some extra practice each week.

She says singing for the kids has also helped her get used to performing in front of people.

"The extra practice is good, but I also want to see more little kids trying to learn how to throat sing. That's important," says Kasaluak.

"After a few visits, I was surprised by how many of them started to try to throat sing.

"They're not as shy as when we first started."

Efforts appreciated

Daycare staff appreciate the effort Kasaluak and Angidlik are making with the children.

It's always a tough sell to get people in the community to volunteer their time at the daycare without being paid some form of honorarium, so the staff welcomed the two throat-singing students with open arms.

Assistant manager Karen Ransom says the throat singing has been going over extremely well with the kids.

She says it's important to Inuit culture for people to volunteer their time in order to pass on their knowledge and talent to youth in the community.

"It's been such a breath of fresh air to find two youth willing to donate their time to other children," says Ransom.

"The kids here are really trying. In fact, we even have a few who tried throat singing to their parents when they came to pick them up.

"That came as a big surprise to their parents and one that went over really well."