Nibinamik school's years-long fundraiser still short of funds needed for Toronto trip

For the past three years, students in Nibinamik have been fundraising for a year end-trip — an adventure parents and educators say could expand their horizons.

Nibinamik is an Oji-Cree community roughly 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont., accessible only by plane or winter road, with a population of approximately 300 people.

The trip to Toronto was initially planned for 2020 but they were forced to postpone due to the pandemic.

Emily Oskineegish, whose granddaughter is a student at Nibinamik Education Centre, said she's contributed to bake sales and a flea market to help raise the funds for her granddaughter to go on the trip.

"Education is important. It's very important to learn about their future," she said.

The school is still $20,000 short of their $60,000 goal for the trip planned for June, according to their GoFundMe page.

David Mossman, a teacher organizing the trip, is originally from Thunder Bay.

LISTEN | Dave Mossman discusses fundraising efforts:

Superior Morning6:53Dave Mossman: Nibinamik Trip

It's a next level school fundraiser, one their teachers say could make a huge difference for kids from a remote First Nation. Hear more about an effort to get a group of Grade 7/8 students from Nibinamik on a plane to Toronto this spring.

Mossman said although there are cultural experiences in the community such as land-based learning and Oji-Cree immersion, it's important to show students the career options available to them after secondary and post-secondary school.

"Right now, none of our kids are thinking, 'Oh, I could be an actor one day or I could work at an aquarium'… They just think all [their] opportunities, or the only jobs [they] can get are either working for the band office or working at the store or the nursing station," said Mossman.

The trip for Grade 7 and 8 students would include Toronto destinations like the Royal Ontario Museum, the Ontario legislature at Queen's Park, the Science Centre and Ripley's Aquarium, as well as a visit to Niagara Falls.

Principal Kevin Booth encourages the trip.

"It's both educational and recreational for them," he said.

"Maybe it inspires them to further their education; maybe they discover something in these visits that interests them to follow as they go through high school and post-secondary."