Youth Team continues mission of empowering Inuit women

In May 2024 the Youth Team won $93,000 for the Arctic Inspiration Youth Prize proposal “Investing in the Futures of Inuit Women”, a twofold project that aims to grow employment skills and confidence in Inuit women to pursue job opportunities and economic independence. The Youth Team is led by One Plane Away (OPA) board member Aneeka Anderson, and other members include board members Kennedy Haines and Caris Madsen, and Beverly Jolley. The first part of the project entailed hiring two young Inuit women to work for OPA, mentoring and training them in the operations. The second part of the project involved organizing sewing programs for Inuit mothers in the Nunavut communities of Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, and Pangnirtung, where participants will learn to make winter clothes for their own children, as well as learn about how to make these skills profitable and a source of income.

The two Inuit young women were hired in July 2024 and have been learning how to pack baby care boxes, to maintain an inventory and organize the space, and with support form the youth team, have been doing the monthly raffle to select individuals who will receive a baby care box. The youth have also been involved in the planning of the sewing groups, attending meetings on ordering supplies, budgeting, developing job descriptions to hire coordinators and instructors, and will be helping to coordinate the Iqaluit based programs. Programs in Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet are expected to commence in late November/early December 2024 and in Pangnirtung in early 2025.

AIYP Team members at the OPA headquarters in Iqaluit, NU.