Teens in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, act as local tour guides to raise money for sports

The tour guides of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, have heard some pretty funny questions.

Is it always cold here? Do you have to be voted in to become an elder?

And lots about the hamlet’s sewage lagoon. 

The local guides are teenage athletes and fielding the questions helps them raise money for their teams, learn leadership skills, and foster curiosity about other countries.

Every summer about a dozen cruise ships anchor at Cambridge Bay and up to 300 passengers disembark from each ship to explore. The hamlet has partnered with sports teams to have athletes show the tourists around and raise funds for tournaments.

13-year-old Rayna Mala has been guiding for two summers and she says she likes that the tourists want to know about her community. 

“They’ve asked what it’s like in the school and they’ve asked stuff about the town, some that I couldn’t answer but it was nice to hear their questions,” she said. 

The tours typically include the library and cultural centre, the Canadian High Arctic Research Station, the schools, stores and Kuugalaaq cultural campus, but they can vary depending on the group and their interests. 

Graysen Maniyogina, 14, said he’s had some groups take a keen interest in municipal service workers. 

“We use sewage and water trucks because we don’t have pipes underground for water so then maybe if we see a sewage and water truck driving around we show them,” he said.

Maniyogina is on the wrestling and basketball teams and said he’s glad to contribute to their travel funds.

“We get to compete with other people and it’s so much fun,” he said.

Angela Gerbrandt is the community’s economic development officer and runs the program with the guides. She says it’s a great way for the athletes to get work experience and gain valuable skills. 

“They’ve grown in confidence, they’ve become much prouder of the community and all the time they are working with the sport team coaches,” she said. 

Chris Crooks is a coach and sports mentor in Cambridge Bay. He said he’s already seen a difference in the athletes’ confidence. 

“Initially when we ran it, they were extremely shy,” he said. Crooks remembers putting athletes together in groups and some of them wouldn’t speak to the tourists at all. 

“Now we got a group of kids and they’re good on their own. They’re very independent now in what they do.” 

Mala said she’s even noticed that in herself. 

“I do get quite shy, but you do have to put yourself out there and I’ve done that, I’d say,” she said.

“I’ve also learned that I want to travel the world someday.” 

Mala and the other guides say they’ve met lots of interesting people through the program, even if they do find the visitors’ interest in the hamlet’s sewage strange. 

Related stories from around the North: 

Canada: Why Coral Harbour, Nunavut residents are building a passage north, CBC news