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RANKIN INLET
After producing more than 30 alumni from the Kivalliq region over the past two years, Canada World Youth is running a project in Rankin Inlet - the first it has conducted in Nunavut.

Eight youth from Peru and nine from across Canada arrived in Rankin Inlet last week and will spend the next two months volunteering and immersing themselves in the community and culture. After Rankin, they will head to Peru for another two months to do the same thing.

One of Canada World Youth's Rankin alumni, Lori Tagoona, is the project supervisor for the program and said, "Once I found out (about the project), I knew I had to be a part of it."

In 2009 and 2010, she travelled to Ukraine and then to British Columbia to do volunteer work and experience new places. Afterwards, she was an intern with Canada World Youth from September 2010 until April 2011.

"Sometimes I would joke when I was working in the office during my internship that they should do a program in Rankin and that I would be the project supervisor, so to me it was just a joke, and just a dream that was very far away, and in April I found out that they were actually doing a program in Rankin."

Working with Peruvian project supervisor Carol Duenas, Tagoona has set up volunteer work placements for the youths and arranging for host families with whom they will be staying.

"What we really want for them to do is integrate into the community, learn about the community and use the work placement as a window into that," Tagoona said. "Also, with the host families, that's another area where they're building relationships with local people."

The youth will conduct volunteer work with the Kivalliq Inuit Association, the hamlet, the summer camp, the Taparti Centre and with the outreach program.

"I think that one (outreach program) will be really exciting because we're placing a group of four there and they'll act as youth co-ordinators so they'll plan different events while they're here," Tagoona said.

Program manager Vlad Gomez said Canada World Youth is happy to finally be operating in Nunavut as the organization is in its 41st year.

"Our focus is young people and we believe that young people are the agents of change right now, and as a young country, we want programs like this to kind of bridge the south and the North in Canada," Gomez said.

He said some of the youth have already had the opportunity to try country food, and, as of press time, it looked like some might have been able to get out on the land over the weekend.

There is much the youth can pick up on and take back to their community from Rankin, he said.

"We had an elder come and she did a ceremony ... with the young people, and I think that's something we can all learn - the respect for elders that the Inuit have."

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