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SANIRAJAK/HALL BEACH - It's possible Hall Beach has one of the hippest bylaw officers around.

His name is Trevor Nangmalik and he's a young father and hamlet employee who is using his creativity and resourcefulness to help local teens accomplish their goals.

When the youth in his community expressed an interest in starting a hip-hop program, he agreed to get the kids started and obtained permission to use the community hall for an after-school program. Nangmalik wasn't an expert dancer, but he had picked up some of the dance skills while he was working with youth down south.

"I used to work in a youth program in Ottawa," he said. "My boss there ... taught me how to run a (hip-hop) program before.

"It was only one month to learn it. I didn't do, like, dancing on your head! I didn't do all that kind of stuff before. I only learned the positions and the safer way to do it."

Nonetheless, it was enough to get the kids started. He also received taped hip-hop sessions in Arctic Bay to help him provide further instruction.

After months of practising, the participants, who are between 14 and 20 years of age, have already surpassed their teacher, said Nangmalik, laughing.

"They love the energy and they love to exercise," he said. "They're working on their self-esteem."

As the hip-hop program progressed, the teens started to express other interests as well, particularly a desire to contribute to their community.

"I asked them what kind of prizes they want and they said, 'No, we don't want prizes, we want to fundraise and help the community hall, to fix it up - new lights and new speakers, new stereos and new washrooms and all that stuff,'" Nangmalik recalled. "And I said, 'Oh, all right. I'll see what I can do.'"

Based on their request, the instructor began organizing the youth into committees to work on fundraising and to move forward on their ideas. Through this process, he is teaching them organizational and leadership skills as well.

The teens participating in the after-school program will be holding a Christmas performance on Dec. 5 at the community hall. Nangmalik invites everyone to attend and to support the youth as they demonstrate what they've learned.