Port Alberni Friendship Centre staff, elders, First Nations, city and provincial officials gathered Thursday morning for the ceremonial groundbreaking for ?iihmisuk taatne?is (Treasure Our Little Ones) Child Care Centre.
The facility, which is designed to accommodate 50 children, will be built between the Friendship Centre on 4th Ave. and the former Bottle Depot, on two of three lots donated by the City of Port Alberni.
“The first time we thought about the daycare was 20 years ago, but at that time, there was no funding available,” Cyndi Stevens, PAFC executive director, told Ha-shilth-sa prior to the ceremony.
About two years ago, the Ministry of Children and Family Development announced that it would increase funding for childcare services.
“We did a needs’ assessment and determined there was a want and a need,” Stevens said. “We applied for funding in March 2015, and we were just approved a couple of months ago.”
MCFD has provided $491,000, which will not cover the entire cost of the centre, “so we are shaking every tree we can to find funding, and the community has been very responsive.”
Stevens said the city donated the property last fall, “and they’ve been able to waive some of the [development] fees, as well.”
Mayor Mike Ruttan said the donation was part of an overall city strategy both to stimulate economic development and to increase support services for families.
“Any initiatives that are going to help make it better for families, we’re going to do that,” Ruttan said.
The Bottle Depot is part of the donation. Ruttan said that property will be made available following the June 7 to June 10 Exercise Coastal Response. A mock earthquake and tsunami will occur during which the city and the province will practice their reponse.
“One of the things that happens in an earthquake/tsunami is buildings collapse,” he explained. “This will be the ‘Collapsed Building.’ There will probably be some ‘victims’ inside.”
Tseshaht Chief Councillor Hugh Braker welcomed guests to Tseshaht and Hupacasath traditional territory to open the ceremonies, and added his congratulations to the Friendship Centre board and staff.
“In our traditional culture, we make it a priority to give children a safe place while their parents are working,” Braker said. “Now we are building a place in the City of Port Alberni where children can be safe while their parents are occupied.”
The opening song was performed by elders Ray and Marie Samuel, but not before Ray quipped to Braker, “Seems like I heard you were going to donate a million dollars.”
He then pointed to the Friendship Centre building.
“Back in the ‘80s, we put a lot of effort into fundraising to build this place. We worked hard for this, for all the people in the Valley, not just natives.”
Ray then introduced the Prayer Song he and Marie wrote, and couldn’t resist another quip.
“We ask the Creator for guidance, to keep us on the right path… and to behave ourselves.”
Ray’s brother Wally, a PAFC board member, recalled the history of the PAFC, beginning in the 1960s.
“A lot of our people came to the city, and they had no place to go to practice their culture,” he said. Now, the great-grandchildren of those Friendship Centre pioneers will be able to receive out-of-school care right on site, Wally said.
He thanked the representatives of the provincial government for putting their faith in Nuu-chah-nulth people.
“They realize we are capable of providing the kind of services that are needed.” He noted that the staff of the new centre will be able to draw on the traditional wisdom and life experience of elders and other supporters to determine (and deliver) the appropriate care for the children.
“We look forward to providing this place of learning and care for our children,” he concluded.
In his address, Ruttan called the project “an example of leadership in our city, how we work together to make good things happen for the people in our city.
“I believe the Friendship Centre has been a model for opportunities for everybody that comes through it – everybody who participates in its programs and its offerings and its shelter. This is the first step in what will become an additional model for those beyond our community.”
Hesquiaht Elder Simon Lucas recalled the very beginnings of what became PAFC.
“It was in the ‘60s, we went to see a gentleman named Mark Mosher, who had a place on Second Avenue. He was the head of the Communist Party. We asked him if we could rent it, and he said, ‘Just use it, whenever you need it.’
“I don’t think Mark really knew what was going to develop within our families. To this day, we meet every Sunday at the Friendship Centre, to do our songs and dances.”
Lucas said the Friendship Centre was an integral part of the restoration of culture and a place of healing for survivors of the residential schools. He thanked a number of early supporters, such as Margaret and George Clutesi of Tseshaht, legal counsel Armour Ford and his wife Helen, who helped create programs, as well as then-Mayor Les Hammer, who was given a Nuu-chah-nulth name by George Clutesi, in thanks.
On a personal basis, Lucas said he learned leadership skills through his involvement with PAFC and serving on the board.
“I was chief of my tribe for 10 years, and I got my training here at the Friendship Centre,” he said.
Following the speeches, Matt Swann and his West Beaufort Construction crew fired up their excavator and scooped out a hole in the centre of the site.
While Ray and Marie Samuel sang, the ceremonial shovel crew, which included Mayor Ruttan, Wally Samuel, Buddy Hamilton and PAFC Youth Board member Charlotte Wishart (assisted by daughter Sophie), proceeded to make the dirt fly, officially launching the construction.
Stevens said the goal is to have the centre open this September. The facility will employ up to nine staff.
