Northern communities receive large donations of PPE and support from COVID-19 Relief Fund

“We put forward three things which was to provide food hampers to our community school snack program which stopped when school’s closed,” she said. “The Elders in our community are having trouble keeping up with expenses and there hasn’t been a whole lot of money focused on Elders but they’re struggling at home.”

The community is also supplying materials for home-made masks and purchased seven pales of hand sanitizer which have been distributed to residents. Members of the village can also bring hand sanitizer containers to the village office for re-filling.

“When people need to travel, whether they’re travelling to Meadow Lake or Prince Albert, they have a mask and hand sanitizer to prevent the spread of COVID-19 when a hand washing station is not available,” Rasmussen said.

The Village of Green Lake does not have community based organizations such as food banks or Boys and Girls Clubs. However, Rasmussen said the municipality can operate as one by funding support for its residents.

“This $7,000 from Cameco is going to allow us to act like a community-based organization and do some programming we don’t normally do,” she said. “We’re going be able to supply some food support for children and elders, and for the entire community, we’re able to offer hand sanitizer and masks to anybody who wants them.”

Rasmussen said if it weren’t for Cameco’s donation, the community would not have been able to offer the one-time gift.

The northern Village of Buffalo Narrows was also a recipient of a significant donation and Ashraful Alam, chief administrator officer for the village of Buffalo Narrows said the donation HAS significantly helped the community which was in dire need personal protective equipment (PPE) and hand sanitizer.

“Now with their help, which was extremely helpful, we have enough supplies and it’s easier for the public to control a potential outbreak,” he said. “As of today, we do not have any cases but only 53 kilometers away is, so our community seems to be taking it seriously now.”

Some members of Buffalo Narrows have already begun receiving the PPE equipment and hand sanitizer.

Announced on April 15, the Cameco COVID-19 Relief Fund was open to applications from charities, not-for-profit organizations, town offices and First Nation band offices in Saskatoon and northern Saskatchewan impacted by the pandemic.

Eligible applicants could seek grants of up to $50,000 to assist in their efforts to overcome the effects COVID-19 had on their ability to serve their communities and support people in need. The initiative also demonstrated the overwhelming need that exists in Saskatoon and northern Saskatchewan in the midst of this pandemic.

By the submission deadline of April 28, 581 applications were received seeking more than $17.5 million in funding assistance demonstrating tremendous need.

Cameco is one of the largest global providers of uranium fuel.

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nicole.reis@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @nicolereis7722

by Nicole Reis

Northern communities receive large donations of PPE and support from COVID-19 Relief Fund

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