Increasing their skills
Arviat workers complete youth empowerment training
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
ARVIAT
Three women from the Arviat Wellness Centre were among eight youth workers to complete a Makimautiksak youth empowerment training program delivered through the Qaujigiaqtiit Health Research Centre in Iqaluit this past week.
Arviat Wellness Centre youth worker Joni Okatsiak, right, accepts her certificate for completing the Makimautiksak youth empowerment training program from facilitator Gwen Healey in Iqaluit in January of 2016. - photo courtesy of Kukik Baker |
The centre's child and youth outreach worker, Kukik Baker, as well as youth workers Stephanie Owlijoot and Joni Okatsiak, attended the three-day program
Baker said the Arviat Wellness Centre partners with the Qaujigiaqtiit Health Research Centre on a number of projects, such as the Young Hunters program.
She said the course dealt with self esteem, helping youth deal with their emotions, connect with community, family and friends, and develop coping skills to get through different situations in life.
"The course is developed for youth aged 10 to 14 to attend a camp, and we'll use a minimum of two youth mentors who we'll choose from the community to join the group as leaders and mentor the younger kids throughout the camp," said Baker.
"It's our call as to how many kids we'll have at the camp but they advise between eight and 10.
"You don't want too many kids at the camp because you want to personalize it toward the group you have.
"It comes down to what we're comfortable with as facilitators."
Baker said the camp can be held year-round, but there's a land component to it that would work better in the spring, summer or early fall.
She said it would be possible, however, to hold the camp in short day trips during the winter, and she hopes to hold the first camp this coming February or March.
"I found this program to contain a lot of very useful information.
"While we were going through it, I was thinking to myself I could use this component for another group, taking bits and pieces out of it for different programming.
"I could use part of it for the Young Hunters program and another for a girl's group."
The Arviat Wellness Centre averages about 35 youths annually in its Young Hunters program, 15 in its girl's group and another 35 to 70 in its annual youth forum.
Another 200 attend the centre's summer camp.
The Young Hunters program is now entering its fifth year, and has proven itself so successful it has a waiting list of young people wanting to join.
Baker said a new component was added to the program this past year that has workshops being held for youths who are no longer in the school system.
She said week-long workshops were held on qamutiik making, ulu making and mapping.
"We had them find different areas around town on a map, and then we had an elder name them.
"By the end of the following week we had 511 names, and all the kids who were part of the workshop got to load them into their GPS.
"Now if one of them has their Ski-Doo break down while out on the land, they can just call or text the name of the place and everybody will know exactly where they are."
