Kugaaruk high schoolers sew hand-made slippers for children who lost indoor shoes to fire

When the only school in the small community of Kugaaruk, Nuanvut burned down in March, dozens of shoes for tiny feet went up in flames.

Elementary students at Kugaardjuq School lost their indoor shoes to the fire, butthe older students at the school decided to do something about it.

• Kugaaruk school destroyed after suspicious overnight fire

The grade 10 and 11 students in the school's fine art class were making parkas for their class project those too, were destroyed by the fire, along with the school's sewing machines.

That's when teacher Margaret Inaksajak decided her students needed a new project: hand-made traditional slippers for mini feet.

The Koomiut Coop donated some material to the school and the fur came from scrap material the teachers found at home.

"All the slippers were made by the students," said Inaksajak. "They were very beautiful."

All together, the students made 30 pairs of slippers for the 24 kindergarten students. The rest were given to first graders who needed indoor shoes.

Little Trina's story

Little Trina Apsaktaun was one of the kindergarteners who lost her shoes.

But her big sister Courntey Apsaktaun came to the rescue.

"I helped them when they felt sad about losing their indoor shoes," said Courtney, a grade 10 student at Kugaardjuq School. It was her first time making slippers.

"[Trina] told me she was so happy," said Courtney. "She said she liked them and she wanted to take them home, but she can only take them home at the end of the year."

"They all wanted to show them to their mums because they were so excited. And one of the students asked if they could use them to go out hunting," said Inaksajak.

"Everyone was very inspired by this," said Inaksajak, who encourages older students in Nunavut to make things for the children who see them as role models.

Inaksajaksaid she was "very proud" of her students.

• PHOTOS |After the fire: Kugaaruk attempts to rebound after losing only school