Generous donors bring homeless girl back to Nunavut

Home again: Angela Anavilok back home in Cambridge Bay Nov. 23 thanks to a fundraising campaign by her father, James Ekpakohak. From left: Nathan Gray, Liza Crockatt, Anavilok, Ekpakohak and Andrew Anavilok. (PHOTO BY KELCEY WRIGHT)

Special to Nunatsiaq News

CAMBRIDGE BAY — The recent plight of a Cambridge Bay father to bring his daughter home from the streets of Winnipeg to western Nunavut has come to a happy ending.

Angela Anavilok is back home in that Kitikmeot community, safe and sound, thanks to the fundraising efforts of her father, James Ekpakohak.

The young woman arrived home Nov. 19 and spent her first few hours in Cambridge Bay reuniting with her younger brother and sister and getting comfortable in her new home.

“It’s so nice to finally be home,” said Anavilok, as she stood in her father’s kitchen before the family’s first meal together in more than five years.

“Winnipeg is a really scary city to be homeless in.”

About 10 years ago, Anavilok left Cambridge Bay to live in a youth home in Lindsay, Ont. Two years ago she had to leave the home because she turned 18.

She struggled in a province she did not know until her older sister paid her airfare to Winnipeg to begin the journey home. But that’s where she stalled.

In one of Nunatsiaq News’ most read stories of the year so far, Ekpakohak described how he was trying to raise money to pay for the rest of the trip to Cambridge Bay.

Readers began offering him their Aeroplan frequent-flyer plan points and inquiries poured in about donating money from various locations including Winnipeg and Saskatoon.

Multiple readers also offered Anavilok a warm place to stay in Winnipeg until enough money was raised to get her home.

Within two weeks, Ekpakohak had reached his fundraising goal of $1,000.

Anavilok was originally planning to head home Nov. 10 but the ticket cost $1,300, more money than they had raised, and she didn’t have identification yet.

Thanks to donations, she was able to stay in a hotel for a few days until the rest of the money could be raised, and the details of her flight finalized.

“I want to thank everybody who helped me,” said Ekpakohak. “I am so happy.”

Ekpakohak singled out at least one donor in particular for recognition.

John Faulkner, a computer consultant from Stratford, Connecticut, who added both Ekpakohak and Anavilok on Facebook to facilitate the ticket purchase, deserves special thanks for his contribution to Anavilok’s rescue.

“I know what it’s like to find yourself stranded, looking for a warm place to sleep,” he said to Nunatsiaq News via email.

“[In the span of a few days] I tried to figure out how to help her get her ID so she could fly. When she didn’t have it by [Nov. 10] I wired her [a second] $100 for her to get a room and food. I can’t imagine not trying [to help].”

Overall, Faulkner sent Angela about $230 — including $70 he raised from his friends — an amount that was instrumental in paving the way for Anavilok’s return to Nunavut.

Faulkner also contacted Canadian North and convinced staff there to give Anavilok a discounted ticket so the money raised would cover the costs.

Ekpakohak says he is eternally grateful to readers and donors without whom his daughter might still be struggling on the streets of Winnipeg.

“It’s been great,” he said. “Now I can’t stop smiling.”