Finding her passion
Less than one year into her job, recreation co-ordinator says everything is as it should be
Elaine Anselmi
Northern News Services
Monday, September 7, 2015
GAMETI/RAE LAKES
After spending the whole morning preparing meals for sale and then working through lunch, Juanita Bekale says she's starting to run low on energy but it's worth it.
Juanita Bekale says positive responses from community members keep her loving her job as recreation co-ordinator in Gameti. - photo courtesy of Juanita Bekale |
"I've been cooking since 9 a.m., so I'm just finally taking a break – just making extra cash for recreation," Bekale, the recreation co-ordinator for Gameti tells News/North.
"We have bingo going on tomorrow, so I have to set up for that."
Bekale only stepped into the position in March, after taking some time to consider whether the job would be right for her.
"It took me a while to think about it and apply. Nobody was applying, so I thought, I'll give a try and give back to the community," she says.
"So far, I'm loving the job. It's a lot of work, it keeps me busy."
When the job came up, Bekale was in her first year of college in Grande Prairie studying office administration. She came back to Gameti – where she was born and raised – to save up some money.
"I was going to go back to college in Grande Prairie and take as much education as I possibly can. When they put that posting up and nobody applied, I thought about it for a couple of days – at first I was hesitant," she said.
"And then I thought of a whole bunch of ideas, it just came in my mind that I could do this and that with sports and kids and the community itself."
That sealed the deal, and Bekale says she has since made several changes to programming that have been welcomed by the community.
"Everybody is saying I'm improving my job. We do events and barbecues and activities," says Bekale.
"I also do everything about budgeting and planning and reporting."
As well, Bekale takes care of the youth centre, which she says she is trying to gear up to offer more to younger members of the community. She has also been co-ordinating getting a clothing line going in town, ordering in jackets, T-shirts and sweaters. New to the role, Bekale still has another month left of probation in the position, after which point she will be able to take courses and programs to develop her skills in recreation management – something she has realized she hopes to continue on with.
"For sure for another couple of years," she says.
"Six months went by so fast, so I'm just thinking what's another couple months and then that leads to a year."
Despite the long hours, she says the response from the youth and entire community makes the job well worthwhile. With such gratitude shown, she is looking forward to continuing on in the role and making more positive changes in her community.
"I have really big plans for the next year," she says.
"Everything is going just the way I want it to."
