Coats for Kalskag Part 2

Halloween 2012: 118 Coats given away and lots of candy!  People were so thankful for their new coats, hats, snow pants and gloves!!

Trash

As I was walking Curly, the black poma-poodle, around Lower Kalskag I noticed garbage laying around on the ground.  I thought it would be nice to have the village clean before the snow comes so it won’t be such a big job after breakup in the spring.  I bribed several kids with pizza if they would fill up one garbage bag with trash.  So Friday night there were about a dozen older children willing to pick up trash and eat pizza.  We made the pizza dough then as it was rising I gave each a garbage bag.  Trash was picked up all around the playground, school, homes, the post office and bingo hall.  Fourteen trash bags were collected and a dozen kids ate pepperoni and cheese pizza!  They had a blast!

Socks, Socks, Socks

The Chief whispered to some ladies in Atlanta, Georgia that the children in the Upper Kalskag elementary school could use some socks.  They collected 72 new socks and sent them out in a flat rate box.  I divided them up according to class and size.  I distributed the socks to the teachers one Wednesday morning.  The Chief arranged to have the superintendent of the Kuspuk public schools to be in Kalskag on the morning I gave the bags to the teachers.  The teachers gave a short geography lesson on Atlanta, a writing lesson on thank you notes, a math lesson on dividing up the pairs to students and adding all the socks together.  There are creative teachers in Kalskag!  The superintendent and the principal were impressed!  The children were ecstatic about new white socks!

 

Coats for Kalskag Part 1

My daughter and son-in-law had a brain storm idea about gathering coats for the children in Kalskag.  They came up with the idea of “Coats for Kalskag” and put a plan together.  A large school, a couple of churches, and some businesses in Wasilla began to collect used coats for the people in the village.  We will distribute about 100 coats at the church on Halloween.  “Coats and Candy” we will call it.  My Wasilla church is mailing them out to my Village Church in several large totes.  To be continued….

 

The Home Visit

I am required to visit homes of the children I teach.  Friday, I went to one boy’s home to meet with his parents.  It was a good visit.  Another student in the class lives across the street.  She had been absent due to illness so I thought since I was in the neighborhood I would drop off her papers and newsletter to her mother. I also had a short survey I needed to take for the office.  I knocked on the door and I heard a muffled, “Come in!”  I slowly opened the door saying loudly, “Hello! It’s Shelly, your daughter’s (I named her) teacher.”  The father greeted me and I introduced myself, shaking his hand, since I had not met him yet.  I told him I was glad to hear his daughter was feeling better and handed him a pile of papers.  I went on to ask him if I could ask him 4 questions for a short survey.  He complied.  I completed my four and a half minute visit and turned to go.  He spoke up and said I may have the wrong child.  What?!!!  He told me that the girl I was looking for lived next door.  Oh NO!!! I got the wrong house?!  I apologized profusely and tried to back away slowly groping for the door handle, hoping this gentlemen would not call the troopers. He handed me the child’s papers.  The Chief’s voice spoke to me clearly through my invisible earphone and told me to properly introduce myself.  I turned around held my head up high and hand out to him again and announced, “Hello, let me formally introduce myself.  I am Shelly, the new white teacher who doesn’t know where the children in her class live!  This is my way of meeting the neighbors in my new village! I am honored to meet you, sir!”  If he told me his name, I would not have remembered it!  He began to chuckle and I graciously backed out of the house, thanking him for his hospitality.  Fortunately, no troopers showed up on my doorstep.  I am sure I was the talk of the village all weekend!  After I told a couple native ladies my story, they figured out whose house I went to and they agreed.  The white woman would be the talk of the village all weekend!

Kengumken wii’nga

I am learning a few Yupik words, taught to me by a 10 year old.  Kengumken wii’nga means “I love you.”  I thought that would be an important phrase to learn.

Gasoline finally arrived by barge.  However, my 4-wheeler is out of commission so I am hitching rides with a neighbor to work.  I rode the school bus home one day.  Glad it was a short ride!

 

Chief has given me another assignment: To start a group to study His Manuel for life.  I talked to the Pastor who gave a list of names that may be interested in a group such as this.  Chief has provided me a large living room and many chairs for hospitality.  Hopefully this will begin soon. 

Prep Week

Made contact with several families in the Villages (both Upper and Lower Kalskag) this week.  Some homes were alarming to enter.  No electricity, no running water, dirt, stench, sick babies, no hope.  My heart goes out to these broken families racked by alcoholism and poverty.  Part of my assignment in Kalskag is to be a resource of hope for these families.  One family I was able to help get on emergency heating assistance and food stamps.  Another home I gave suggestions on hauling water and cleanliness.  Both homes haunted me at night.

Transportation is a challenge as there has been no fuel (gasoline) in the village for a couple weeks.  Kids played a prank in the middle of the night and hid my 4-wheeler behind my living quarters.  At least it wasn’t damaged or completely missing.