Rick Hansen injects Iqaluit with big shot of inspiration

Rick Hansen talks to Iqaluit children about a special medal that the Canadian Mint created to mark the 25th anniversary of his 1987 Man in Motion fundraising tour. Selected “difference makers” across Canada get to wear a replica of the medal. (PHOTO BY JIM BELL)

Rick Hansen, the Canadian paralympian and fundraiser who has dedicated his life to helping people disabled by spinal cord injuries, brought a big shot of inspiration to Iqaluit on a two-day visit this past weekend.

“Stay strong. Never give up on your dreams,” Hansen said at a community event held Sept. 25 inside Iqaluit’s Nakasuk School.

There, Iqaluit firefighters gave Hansen a souvenir T-shirt, then used their vehicle sirens to blast an earplitting salute into the evening air.

Inside the school, Hansen honoured Naiomie Hanson-Akavak and Nicole Paniapakoochoo of Iqaluit as “difference makers” and designated them as “medal bearers” for his current cross-country relay.

Hanson-Akavak, 25, has lived with cerebral palsy for her entire life, but graduated from Inuksuk High School in 2004 and went on to complete studies at Nunavut Sivuniksavut and Algonquin College in Ottawa.

She has published commentaries in Nunatsiaq News aimed at educating the public about the needs of disabled persons and works as a volunteer for the Nunavummi Makinnasauqtiit Disabilities Society.

Nicole Paniapakoochoo has done volunteer work with children, including work at the Inuit children’s centre in Ottawa.

This nine-month tour of Canada marks the 25th anniversary of Hansen’s 1987 “Man in Motion” tour, which was aimed at raising money to fund research into spinal cord injuries.

Hansen, now 54, was paralyzed at age 15 in a vehicle accident near his home in British Columbia.

After becoming the first student with a physical disability to graduate with physical education degree from the University of British Columbia, Hansen went on to win national championships in wheelchair volleyball and basketball.

In 2007, the Rick Hansen Institute made a five-year, $100,000 contribution to the Government of Nunavut to help Nunavummiut with mobility impairments pay for transportation, equipment, education and attendant care.

That money, which is administered by a multi-agency group called the Nunavut Solution Team, runs out later this fall, after the final $20,000 installment is paid out.

Premier Eva Aariak said Sept. 25 that the deadline for making applications to this fund falls on Oct. 31, 2011.

Those who wish to apply may contact Annie Quirke at the Nunavut Disabilities Society, 1-877-354-0916 or Teresa Lane at the Rick Hansen Institute, 1-604-707-2103.