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New volunteer brings Kyquot to the W2R team

Susan PlenskyYou won’t find Kyquot on most maps. The tiny community is hidden away on the far northwest coast of Vancouver Island. It’s only accessible by water taxi. The remoteness has some fortunate features, including tourism. Fishing is excellent, which means there are several fine (expensive) lodges. The waters near the villages are awash with “rafts” of sea otters, floating sweetly among kelp beds. Westcoast Expeditions operates a rustic camp and kayak centre on nearby Spring Island. The village has a tiny store, a school and a band office. The village is protected from the open ocean by a chain of islands on which you will find non-native folks living in summer cottages. The Plensky family has lived on their own little island for over 20 years.

Susan Plensky discovered the Write to Read website by accident and immediately sent an email, inquiring about the possibility of building a school. Susan’s background is First Nations education as she was a teacher, principal, School Trustee and Trustee Chair so her position with the W2R team will be Education Ambassador.

KyuqotOver the years the Plensky family grew, and so did their house. From time to time they put up passengers from the freight vessel Uchuck 111. The W2R team was welcomed to their home with open arms. If you ever plan to travel with the Uchuck (it sails from Gold River) be sure to visit Kyquot and say hello to Susan. She will be the W2R contact in Kyquot as we plan to build a Community Centre and Big House above the village.

Uchuck cruises http://www.getwest.ca/

Westcoast Expeditions https://www.westcoastexpeditions.com/

First Nations inmates start to build furniture for W2R libraries

Bob and JohnProject Leader Bob Blacker reports that the BC CORRECTIONAL SERVICE, through two of their facilities on Vancouver Island, have agreed to build furniture for Write to Read llibraries. This furniture to be built will include bookshelves, computer stations, coffee tables and any other custom work that may be required. The photo in this article (Bob and donor John McFarlane) reveals that shelving does need custom fitting.

Bob will be forwarding plans and designs for the shelves along with the material that we would need and in return the Correctional Facilities will build the furniture. Another positive aspect of the agreement is First Nation inmates will be able to help with the building of the furniture, certainly a win/win for all involved. The first library to be outfitted will be Lax Kw’alaams (Prince Rupert) for their new school that will be delivered and opened May 2015. Hats off to all concerned.

Top W2R volunteer off to university

Toosey 5Shirley-Pat Chamberlain from the Williams Lake Daybreak Rotary Club has been a top volunteer for Write to Read in the Cariboo region, assisting with the development of libraries in several First Nations communities. While it is bad news that W2R will be losing her services, the great news is that she has been accepted at prestigious Edinburgh University for a PHD in Interdisciplinary Studies. The interesting thing is that Shirley-Pat’s thesis will be focussed on the Write to Read Project and what effect it has made to communities, relationships with aboriginal peoples in British Columbia.

Many people have remarked that the Write to Read Project is a “blueprint” that can be copied in other Canadian provinces, and also in other aboriginal communities around the world. Literacy is always the first step towards self-determination. Here is hoping that Shirley-Pat’s thesis will go a long way towards creating a written version of that blueprint, to be copied everywhere!