EABAMETOONG FIRST NATION — Matawa First Nations Management (MFNM) has partnered with the charity Achieving the Dream Through Education to open an emergency response fund to support Eabametoong First Nation following the loss of their community school in a fire on Jan. 25.
Earlier today, the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service announced four young people have been arrested since the school burned down.
Achieving the Dream Through Education was founded in 2018 to support youth and children from across the Matawa First Nations.
As their website states, they work to “preserve cultural traditions through land-based and culturally connected programming [and provide] mental health support and resources that help address challenges and barriers Indigenous youth face while promoting overall well-being.”
In line with their vision of equitable access to quality education, it makes sense that this emergency relief fund was setup so soon following the loss of the John C. Yesno Education Centre in Eabametoong, also known as Fort Hope.
Brittany Kennedy, programs administrator for Achieving the Dream, said this emergency fund is intended to be more than a “band-aid fix.”
“Education is a pivotal structure in community and in a child’s young life. Our charity wants to step up and help however we can, so we created the Eabametoong First Nation Emergency Response Fund. Our goal is to raise funds to get supplies and services into the hands of children and youth in the community,” she said.
Sports equipment is currently at the top of the list in terms of supplies for the children, according to Kennedy.
She said Achieving the Dream has been taking direction from Eabametoong’s Education Authority and community leaders as to what their current and ongoing needs are.
"They're trying really hard to make sure the kids are positive, morale is up, and that the community is coming together. They're really showing their resiliency, as they always do – the entire community is just a resilient group of people. They're really coming together to support each other."
Interestingly, Kennedy said a team from Achieving the Dream had just paid a visit to the John C. Yesno Education Centre to checkout their inventory and get a sense of ways the organization could support the community school – one day before the fire that claimed the building took place.
“They got a tour of the school and they walked through their land-based and cultural inventory – their spaces where they have all of their equipment. It’s heartbreaking because, the next day, I was talking to some of my colleagues who were there and they said how organized the space was and how full of a plethora of resources for these kids to be able to do hunting and trapping and all these wonderful land-based activities - and then shortly thereafter we hear that the whole building is engulfed in flames,” she said.
The JCY Education Centre was opened in 1967 and remained a fixture in the community since then, with Chief Solomon Atlookan telling Dougall Media on Jan. 26 that even he graduated from the school.
Hence why Kennedy referred to the fire as a “traumatic” event for Eabametoong First Nation.
“The school is not just a building. A lot of people often went there as a safe space, to take part in the food nutrition program, to access after-school sports, to spend time with their family and their friends – it was a community gathering space, it was so much more than just a building,” she said.
Kennedy said that Achieving the Dream views this as a long-term project, especially considering some of the challenges a remote community like Eabametoong faces when it comes to accessing resources.
This new emergency fund through Achieving the Dream and Matawa is a valuable option for people who are looking to get involved or help in some capacity but don’t know where to start or who to contact.
As far as Achieving the Dream and the residents of Eabametoong First Nation are concerned, no donation is “too small.”
“The kids in Eabametoong First Nation, their dream is to have a new school and so we are doing everything we possibly can to help support them,” Kennedy said.
For those interested, you can donate to the Eabametoong First Nation Emergency Response Fund here.
For more information, please visit www.achievingthedream.ca.