The Manto Sipi Youth Walk for Life

Eight days ago, 20 young people from the Manto Sipi (God’s River) First Nation started walking and running from Thompson to Winnipeg. The first two days there was a lot of rain, but they continued. They finished the walk today arriving at the legislature this afternoon. Last year, in this small community there were 11 attempted suicides. These young people decided to do something about the situation. They have walked to Winnipeg in search of help in finding funding for a youth centre and for a playground with play structures for younger children.

In February of this year, I was in Manto Sipi First Nation as part of Manitoba’s All-Party Task Force on Healthy Kids. It was very clear that the recreational opportunities for children were very limited, and improvement is badly needed. Since then, I stayed in contact with Michael Yellowback. When he and others decided to go ahead with the walk to Winnipeg, he sent me an email. I wrote back to indicate my support. I met them on Notre Dame Avenue and joined them for the last few kilometers. I agreed to support them in seeking funding from various sources – private sector, provincial and federal governments. Grand Chief Dr. Sydney Garrioch and I were both part of the walk and we have indicated our willingness to help them put together their request for funding. We will see what we can do.