Photo: Hoops for Hope brings smiles to the faces of the young

Inside the Levi Angmak Elementary School, kids in Arviat take a break from practicing soccer drills and life skills in a program called Soccer for Hope. For the past two weeks, they’ve been going to the gym every day, bringing their friends, and the group has grown from 25 kids to about 50. Coach Kukik Baker, shown here, is a volunteer who learning how to facilitate the program. “It’s for the kids, not for anything else. It’s for the kids so they have something positive to do,” she said. She’s getting trained by organizers at Hoops for Hope, a program similar to those that run in Zimbabwe and South Africa for kids who have trouble finding equipment to play sports as simple as soccer or basketball. Read more later on Nunatsiaqonline.ca (PHOTO COURTESY OF M. CRANDALL)