July 25, 2022
Gahcho Kué Mine scholarships support top graduates from Early Learning And Child Care program
Gahcho Kué Mine and Aurora College are pleased to announce a new scholarship to be awarded to the top 12 Northwest Territories (NWT)-resident graduates of the college’s part-time distance Early Learning and Child Care Program.
The $2,000 scholarships will be awarded annually until 2030. The scholarships support part-time online certificate and diploma graduates who live in the NWT who, because of their part-time status, are ineligible for government funding. Most participants are already working in childcare facilities or in the classroom as assistants in local schools. Gahcho Kué will provide $24,000 annually to support the scholarships, totaling $216,000 over the life of the program.
Recipients of the inaugural award are:
| Farahnaz Abdollarhifar | Yellowknife |
| Nicole Antoine | Fort Simpson |
| Darine Berro | Fort Smith |
| Sheri Coxford | Inuvik |
| Amelia Garcia | Yellowknife |
| Aida Inman | Yellowknife |
| Alex Jones | Fort Smith |
| Natasha Kasook | Tuktoyaktuk |
| Marlo Kiasuk | Inuvik |
| Nicole Klause | Hay River |
| Kandaporn Proulx | Yellowknife |
| Diana Reed | Yellowknife |
The scholarships are part of a larger set of community-based programs that fall under Gahcho Kué Mine’s Building Forever plans. Launched in 2020, Building Forever aims to provide lasting benefits to host communities and includes commitments to protect the natural world, accelerate equal opportunity, partner for thriving communities, and lead ethical practices across industry.
Lyndon Clark, General Manager of Gahcho Kué Mine, said: “We want to congratulate the graduates for completing the program and recognize that each of them plays a critical role in supporting parents and children in their communities. By providing this graduation bursary, we are helping to enhance livelihoods and build an early childhood development network that is essential to thriving communities.”
Glenda Vardy Dell, President of Aurora College, noted: “We are grateful to Gahcho Kué Mine for their recognition of the critical role played by Early Childhood professionals in the development of healthy outcomes for children and families. Providing this financial support is an example of the way partnerships can be created to enhance the quality of life for northern residents and communities.”
Obtaining certificates and diplomas in Early Learning and Child Care will enhance and expand career opportunities for the graduates, including upgraded or additional professional responsibilities, improved pay and opportunities for new or better positions.
The contribution from Gahcho Kué dovetails with the new federal government’s multi-year commitment to invest in early learning and childcare. According to the government of Canada website, “Investing in early learning and childcare offers a jobs-and-growth hat-trick: it provides jobs for workers, the majority of whom are women; it enables parents, particularly mothers, to reach their full economic potential; and it creates a generation of engaged and well-prepared young learners.”
The website also states that “Early learning is at least as important to lifelong development as elementary, secondary and post-secondary education – it improves graduation rates, promotes lifelong well-being, boosts lifetime earnings, and increases social equity….Early learning and childcare programs designed by and with Indigenous families and communities give Indigenous children the best start in life. It is a critical part of reconciliation.”
Gahcho Kué Mine is a joint venture between De Beers Group and Mountain Province Diamonds. The mine is located 280 km northeast of Yellowknife, capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories. Gahcho Kué has a life of mine through 2030.
CONTACT
Terry Kruger
Sr. Communications Officer
De Beers Group Managed Operations – Canada
T +1 867 679 6431
Mob +1 403 835 5875
E-mail: terry.kruger@debeersgroup.com
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About De Beers Group
De Beers Group is a member of the Anglo American plc group. Established in 1888, De Beers Group is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers Group employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As part of the company’s operating philosophy, the people of De Beers Group are committed to ‘’ by making a lasting contribution to the communities in which they live and work, and transforming natural resources into shared national wealth. For further information about De Beers Group, visit www.debeersgroup.com.
About Mountain Province Diamonds
Mountain Province Diamonds is a 49% participant with De Beers Canada in the Gahcho Kué diamond mine located in Canada’s Northwest Territories. The Gahcho Kué Joint Venture property consists of several kimberlites that are actively being mined, developed, and explored for future development. The Company also controls 106,202 hectares of highly prospective mineral claims and leases that surround the Gahcho Kué Joint Venture property that include an indicated mineral resource for the Kelvin kimberlite and inferred mineral resources for the Faraday kimberlites.