Hello

I, Anders Kuusselka, was the oldest sibling in a family of six children. When I was seventeen years old my parents left me to babysit my younger sisters when they went to Winnipeg. My youngest sister, Leila, came and asked me for a ride to go buy some candy. I had some friends over and refused to give her a ride.  She decided to walk from Aspen Park to Gimli by herself to buy candy. Along the way a neighbor who was a pedophile picked her up. He raped and murdered her and discarded her body in the woods north west of Gimli. She was only 10 years of age. You can only imagine the grief my family went through. The police and the army searched the Gimli area for three weeks before they found her dismembered body. I have carried that nightmare and guilt with me all my life.

 

Today, I cannot change what happened that night but I try to reach out to other young people to tell my story to try to keep them safe. My mission is to give other youth the opportunities of a hope and a future that my sister Leila never had. This is what led me to start a Youth Drop-In Centre in Gimli. We started with a small number of youth and one volunteer at Evergreen Basic Needs. Later the RM of Gimli provided “THE WAVE” with space at the Rec Centre and the Gimli Pavilion. Then Dr. George Johnson Middle School opened their doors for us to operate in the school. In 2022 the Rotary Club of Gimli offered to pay our insurance and to provide volunteers to supervise the youth. They also saw the need for providing leadership training for the High School students. They sent 9 students to Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Camp during the summer and started an INTERACT Club for students who wished to volunteer in the community and at Dr. George Johnson Middle School with the younger students.

 

Presently we operate in the Middle School as an after-school program on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 3:30 and 6:00 pm. The youth have access to one hut and the gymnasium. In addition, Bayview Church of Gimli allows us to have their building on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday afternoons for the youth between 4:00 pm and 6:00 PM.

 

Many of today’s youth struggle with poor social skills, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. Our goal is to provide them with a safe environment of belonging and acceptance. We foster social interaction and focus on the strengths of each child to build self-confidence and positive self-esteem by teaching life skills for the future. This is accomplished through skill development in music, arts and crafts, sports, dance, theatre and games activities. This approach has benefitted many youth who were marginalized and rejected. Today we have a large number of youth participating in our programs.

 

In 2022 we organized a building committee and made plans to build a permanent Youth Centre in Gimli. A delegation made a proposal to the RM of Gimli for a parcel of land across from the Skate Park to build a Youth “HUB”. The RM was very supportive of the idea.  We have the building plans and costs estimates ready and are looking for grants to start building soon.

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We hope you will join us and be part of this exciting and worthwhile endeavor.