North of 60 Project

Yesterday I introduced our Guardians Give Back project to our class.  Here is some information for you.

This is a National initiative of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, to support the native people of the Arctic.  For 10 000 years, the Inuit lived self-sufficiently off the land and sea, in harsh conditions. However, global warming has caused melting ice and difficult access to seals, walrus, and narwhals.  There is also a need to protect the herds of caribou.  People must now depend on welfare and there is a constant risk of hunger and starvation.  Food costs are more than three times what we pay, and shipping costs are high.  Ontario began sharing with Nunavut in 2015, and new communities are being added each year.

This year, the SSVP of Windsor-Essex has committed to helping Gjoa (pronounced “Joe”) Haven, a hamlet of about 1200 people, 250 km above the Arctic Circle.  We will fill a sea container with food supplies, donated by churches, individuals, and businesses.  This has to be shipped by June 1, in order to arrive by October 1, before the route is frozen.  We will support them by donating 1 kg packages of oatmeal.  The price for this item seems to be in the $3-$3.50 range.

The main street in Gjoa Haven, NU

Click the link found here, for more information.

Our class has set a goal of 300 packages of oatmeal in three weeks! Can we do it? Yes we can Guardians! Here are some photos of us preparing announcements and creating posters.