KINGFISHER LAKE — Squeals of delight greeted jolly old Saint Nick as he entered each First Nation school gymnasium on his recent tour of the far north.
Santa and his trusted elf, Jibjab-alooba Oopa (Nicole Orr), wrapped up their four-day trek through the 12 remote communities that own Wasaya Airways. The tour is an annual tradition by the airline, where students get to meet the celebrated Christmas icon and receive some goodies.
For Rupinder Kaur Jabbal, a teacher at the Kingfisher Lake Education Centre, the excitement was palpable.
“When they heard another announcement that Santa is here, they were like, ‘oh, let’s go, let’s go,” she said, laughing. “They are so excited.”
Kaur Jabbal, who teaches Grades 5 and 6 in Kingfisher Lake, also has a son in Grade 1 at the school and said he was just as thrilled and primed with anticipation.
“He woke up in the morning and the first thing he said was ‘mama, Santa is coming today.”
In Nibinamik, school principal Kevin Booth echoed those sentiments.
“I think you can see how happy they are,” he said as dozens of students and some family posed for pictures with Santa. “When they heard Santa was coming, they were yelling and screaming down the hall.”
“They were so excited to see him … it’s a great, great gift to the community.”
The communities Santa and his elf visited included Bearskin Lake, Fort Severn, Kasabonika Lake, Keewaywin, Kingfisher Lake, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Muskrat Dam, Nibinamik, Pikangikum, Sandy Lake, Wapekeka and Wunnumin Lake.
The final day saw the duo hop between Nibinamik, Wunnumin Lake and Kingfisher Lake. Each of those three communities also received donations of about 50 laptops through a partnership between Siemens Energy Canada, Rotary and Corporations for Community Connections.
CFCC is a charity that refurbishes laptops donated by businesses when they’re being discarded and distributes the computers to schools, communities and other charities.
Its president and CEO, Philip Schaus, said 2025 was the second year they’ve been involved with the Wasaya Santa Claus run.
“That’s just been a wonderful experience because we know that these computers now are being put in the hands of the teachers and the principals at these schools,” he said. “And they’re going to make good use of them.”
In Nibinamik, Booth said they’re still working out exactly how the computers will be distributed throughout the school but said they will especially help older students.
“They’ll go to the students that will benefit most from them, and, of course, we’ll have some backup in the event for the kids coming down the line.”
Representatives of Corporations for Community Connections, Rotary and Siemens Energy Canada also handed out toothbrushes and toothpaste, donated by Kingsville, Ont.-based dentist Dr. Mark Olivito, who is Schaus’s dentist. Wasaya staff distributed bags of candy and treats.
The laptop donations have the capability to do a lot of good in the far north, said David Neegan, the executive director of Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (or KKETS), and who is being considered for Rotary Club membership.
“One of the things that we’re looking at in terms of prosperity of First Nations is that (it) starts with education,” he said. “These computers from CFCC and the Rotary Club that we’re able to actively participate in terms of bringing our First Nations to that next level so they’d be able to participate in the economy right across Canada.”
Through its fundraising, Rotary paid for the computers’ shipment up north, he said.
The machines came from Siemens. Its chief compliance officer Dean Novak agreed on the good they can do.
“I think laptops connect people to the internet and enable education and can help the youth of today grow,” he said.
“As a corporation, things like laptops have a natural lifespan, and when they’ve reached the end of that lifespan, they’ve lived a very gentle life, so they can easily be repurposed for the individuals in these great communities.”
