INUVIK - Candace Seddon won't be spending her Caribbean vacation drinking pina coladas on the beach.

Instead she'll be building a medical clinic and shelters for poverty-stricken communities in the Dominican Republic.

Candace Seddon attended Samuel Hearne Secondary School's Haitian relief fundraiser on Wednesday looking for donations. She's shown with a display illustrating the project she's involved with. She will travel in April to the Dominican Republic to help build a medical clinic and shelters in poverty-stricken communities. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

After two weeks of fundraising, Seddon has raised more than $7,500. That's enough to construct a shelter, which costs about $5,000 to build. One resident donated a physician travel pack which contains about $5,000 worth of medical supplies that will be used at the clinic.

And after Seddon explained her mission to a little girl at the rec centre recently, she offered what she had - $1.50 - in support.

Part of her inspiration comes from a previous visit to Dominican Republic a few years back, while she was staying at a resort there.

On her way to her vacation destination from the airport she was shocked to see the poverty. At the time she wasn't able to make a difference.

"This is really an opportunity to make a difference, rather than just watching the news in horror," she said.

In April, Seddon will join about 20 Canadian volunteers, some of whom are from Yellowknife, for two weeks to help build the structures.

"When I found out about it, I thought to myself 'That sounds like something really amazing where I could use my vacation time to go make a difference in a part of the world that so desperately needs help,'" said Seddon, who is the legal aid lawyer in town. "We have poverty in Canada but nothing like they have there. When we need to go to the doctor, it's covered."

She learned about the project three weeks ago while reading a GNWT newsletter, in which a fellow employee talked about his experience working with the team and the upcoming initiative.

The idea quickly took root in her mind. She called her colleague the next day and after a brief conversation she was convinced.

"No experience was necessary, just a willingness to work and a desire to help others," she said.

Started by a Canadian couple, the group built a medical clinic in one Dominican Republic community named Centro de Salud Danica, in memory of a two-year-old resident who died as a result of not having access to basic health care. Since opening in 2006, about 400 people a month are treated there. The group is currently working on constructing another in another part of the country named Sosua. It's expected to treat roughly 500 people every month.

"Children die there all the time from simple things like diarrhea," said Seddon. "They don't get seen by a professional. That's unacceptable in our world. That doesn't have to happen."

The group has already raised $12,000 to build the clinic, and part of the team has just arrived in the Caribbean to build the structure's foundation. Seddon will land with several others in April ready to hep with construction, which will involve a whole lot of hard labour.

After the earthquake in Haiti in mid-January, the group decided to raise more money to build shelters in a community called Agua Negra near the Haitian border to accommodate refugees.

As well as being a member of Inuvik's volunteer fire department, Seddon is a Girl Guide leader, a foster parent and has sat on several boards in her six and a half years in Inuvik. In an effort to help cover her travel expenses, Councillor Vince Sharpe donated a return flight from Inuvik to Edmonton by cashing in his frequent flyer points.

"She's making a great humanitarian effort. I wish I could do it but I can't," he said. "If I can't do it, then I might as well help someone who can. The people down there need the help and anything we can do, we should do it."