Article
By David F. Pelly and Laurie Pelly | September 11, 2020
“On this trip, I learned a lot of things. This means the world to me,” wrote Jordan Allukpik, age fifteen, from Kugaaruk in Nunavut, after a twelve-day expedition in the sub-Arctic one hundred kilometres northeast of Yellowknife. “My [favourite] thing about this trip was getting to meet new friends, paddling along with the rapids, and everything else. This trip was super fun.”
Jordan Allukpik was one of twelve Inuit youth from Nunavut sponsored by Ayalik Fund donors to participate in a two-week canoe expedition outside Yellowknife, Northwest Territories in 2020.
2020 was a difficult year with COVID-19 travel restrictions, so we were particularly pleased to launch even this one program; all other plans south of sixty degrees latitude had to be cancelled. In the absence of the usual range of youth programs this summer, Ayalik Fund donors provided support for food banks in five communities across Nunavut, during what was a particularly challenging time.
However, 2020 also marked a major milestone: the year that we sent our one hundredth youth on a life-changing and confidence-building outdoor expedition.
When Eekeeluak Avalak was fourteen years old, he was struggling. After joining an Outward Bound trek in the Rocky Mountains during two consecutive summers, sponsored by Ayalik Fund donors, he felt stronger and wanted to find a new path. As he put it, he decided to “stay out of trouble, finish school, and find something that’s useful in life.” Eekee is still in school, now putting all his extra energy and focus into wrestling, a sport that requires an abundance of self-confidence.
At the time, he wrote to us: “I changed my life around. I’m proud of myself. Outward Bound helped a lot. The experience changed me. Thank you so much.” He now has a collection of wrestling medals, from the Arctic Winter Games and the Canadian Junior Championships. In a short video about the impact of the Ayalik Fund, he says “One of my dreams is to become an Olympic champion, the first ever Inuk.” In 2020, Eekee was named Nunavut’s Male Athlete of the Year, so watch this space!
Eekee is one of the one hundred Inuit youth who have been given a boost by the Ayalik Fund, with your support. Since 2016, many Adventure Canada guests have become supporters of this fund, and Adventure Canada itself has been very generous with its support in many ways, not just financially. We look forward to more exciting things to come!
