Youth celebrate embracing life
Friendship centre oversees anti-suicide event in Rankin
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
RANKIN INLET
Hundreds of youths and adults came together to take part in the Embrace Life event sponsored by the Embrace Life Council and the Pulaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre in Rankin Inlet on Sept. 9.
Gabriel Nirlungayuk congratulates Tati ConnellyClark on taking first place in the Embrace Life poster contest sponsored by the Pulaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre in Rankin Inlet earlier this month. - photo courtesy of Sam Tutanuak |
The event began with an afternoon rally at Maani Ulujuk Ilinniarvik (MUI), before the crowd made the Embrace Life walk from the school, around Williamson Lake, to the power plant and up to the trade school.
The event came to a conclusion with a community barbecue, and the judging of the entries submitted to a poster contest sponsored by the friendship centre.
Regional co-ordinator for Kivalliq Counselling and Support Services Sam Tutanuak helped organize the Embrace Life gathering.
He said this was the first time Pulaarvik organized the event and he found it a rewarding experience.
"We had all the students from MUI at the rally, as well as a few students from Arctic College and the Grade 5 students from Simon Alaittuq School (SAS)," said Tutanuak.
"The gathering at MUI was kept, pretty much, upbeat, but we had a moment of silence that turned out to be especially touching and a little eerie.
"You always have two or three students who will make a little noise just for the attention, but for this there was complete silence except for the humming of the lights.
"The kids were very respectful of the fact we've all lost a family member or a friend to suicide doing our moment of silence."
Tutanuak said he estimates about 300 people took part in the event.
He said the poster contest attracted more than 200 entries in a very short period of time.
"We were, kind of, taken back by the awesome response to the contest,
which was open to students in MUI and SAS, as well as the general public.
"We were only accepting hand-drawn entries; nothing generated by a computer, or anything like that.
"There were some powerful messages on those posters.
"In some cases, for a seven year old, or an eight year old, to express what's on their mind and put their feelings on paper like that was pretty darn impressive."
Tutanuak said, in his opinion, everything went quite well, considering this was the very first one Pulaarvik had ever organized.
He said he was also glad the people who attended were the ones who choose the best posters.
"As people finished their food at the barbecue, they were given coupons to place next to the drawings they felt touched them the most.
"It was also nice to have our local youth group take it upon themselves to handle the barbecuing for us.
"It came together as a nice community effort."
