Marilyn Boyce says Matawa First Nations youth aren’t without hope, but a push in the right direction never hurts.
It’s what the Eabametoong First Nation teen hopes will emerge from Gathering of Rivers for Community Care, the newly forged charitable organization the First Nation created as a way to fill in the gaps Matawa leaders says are preventing both on- and off-reserve youth from achieving success.
The charity will provide scholarships and bursaries to encourage students to stay in school, allow for the creation of learning centres in each Matawa community and money for health and social services support.
“For the young ones back home, I think it’s so they do have a future and it’s important for them to know that there are people out there who care about their education and their future,” she said on Thursday, at the official unveiling of the registered charity at Matawa’s Thunder Bay office complex.
“Some of my family members don’t like going to school and don’t think they have a good future ahead of them. I try to give them advice that they do. So I guess their kind of is (hopelessness).”
A 2006 report commissioned by the Caledonia Institute of Social Policy shows Aboriginal males who drop out of school give up close to half-a-million dollars in future earnings, while Aboriginal females can earn up to $1 million in their lifetimes if they stay in school and go to university. They can expect to earn less than $90,000 if they drop out of high school.
Matawa CEO David Paul Acheepineskum said they decided to go the charity route to tap into Canada’s $8 billion philanthropy network, money they are not allowed to access as First Nations communities.
The need is too great to ignore, he said. Basic needs aren’t being met in many circumstances, and government money, from both the provincial and federal levels isn’t enough.
“It does not address a lot of the shortfalls that are quite obvious in our communities. We have youth that lack education, youth that lack opportunities,” Achneepineskum said.
“Hopefully through this (charity) we can educate the philanthropy sector that it’s OK to give to the Aboriginal communities.”
Achneepineskum added they plan to aggressively go after big business too. Their first major donation came from IBM Canada Ltd., which gave 10 Young Explore computers to the charity for use in several Northern communities.
Wayne Moonias, president of Matawa’s board of directors, said it’s time to stop the struggles being felt by First Nation’s youth, many of whom live in disadvantaged situations.
“We need to support the aspirations of our youth,” Moonias said. “We want to help our youth … We’ve always looked at supporting the grassroots of our communities.”
For more information about the organization, which officially received its charitable status this past March, visit www.gatheringrivers.com.
