IGLULIK
Hours can be merrily spent playing board games but those same games require choices be made and decisions taken, skills that can be applied to everyday life.
That's the premise behind the Hope Club at Ataguttaaluk Elementary School in Iglulik, where 12 at-risk students have met regularly for the past couple of months. The school continued the project started by the community's mental health co-ordinator, said school principal Clyde Rogers.
"With the use of board games, they were teaching such things to the students as self-esteem, decision-making, anger management," he said. "It worked very well. The students were very interested in it."
He said they are using commercial board games. The behaviour of the majority of the participants has changed for the better, said Rogers.
"They roll a dice and they move around the board game," he said. "When they come to a situation, they have to talk over - what would I do? How would I handle this situation? What is the best thing to do here? They would talk about it amongst themselves as to what to do. Sort of like a problem-solving but in a group setting."
As a way to be kind, the group also collected ice at nearby Avvajja Island, returning to Iglulik with three qamutiik filled with about 455 kg of ice, he added. The ice was distributed to elders for making tea and for drinking water.
Kojo Bransah, one of the program co-ordinators, said the pilot project is going well so far. As long as the participant has the comprehension and the ability to participate, he said this project is for anyone.
"The kids are very, very happy about it. It's going great," said Bransah. "Using the board games, everybody get a chance to say something, do something, learn how to voice your opinion be it good or bad and we take it from there. "
Femi Buyilemi is the other program co-ordinator.
Bransah said the reasoning behind the name Hope Club, which is designed for at-risk youth, is trying to give the students some hope. He said the school wants to eventually expand the program.
