Fundraising gets underway for epic adventure 

How to send local youth on a trip down under without putting the family’s finances down under with it?

That’s the question that was considered at this week’s fundraising meeting at Ratihén:te High School, where parents and students brainstormed ideas to generate money to pay for students to go to New Zealand and Australia in 2026.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I’m 51 years old and I’ve never been able to experience something like that,” said Jeffrey Nelson, father of two eligible students.

“You go on vacation, you go to Mexico or Punta Cana, you sit on the beach, but you never really go and travel the world. So it’s a great experience for the kids.”

The first fundraiser, which will be student-led, is already slated for this weekend’s Indigenous winter market in Oka Park, with youth setting up a bake sale and half-and-half draw to begin generating money for the trip.

“As for the long run, we have so many ideas up our sleeves that the parents and youth came up with, so stay tuned for further fundraisers,” said student life animator Kahsennine Nelson, who is coordinating the trip.

The group’s goal is to raise $175,000, which would cover the costs in full for 20 students. There are 25 eligible students at the school – those currently in grades eight through 10 – and Kahsennine is hoping to register at least 15-20 of them for the proposed trip.

“Unfortunately, the majority of our students don’t experience life outside Kanesatake, let alone fly on an airplane overseas. I want them to be able to experience life to the fullest,” Kahsennine said.

The destination was chosen in a vote, with each eligible student able to cast an anonymous ballot for one of three options. New Zealand won with 11 votes, while Italy notched nine and Japan five.

New Zealand and Australia were the same destinations visited by Kahnawake youth earlier this year on a trip organized by the Kahnawake Youth Center. In New Zealand, home to the Indigenous Māori, the students were even able to visit a “wharenui,” the Māori equivalent of a Longhouse.

When Kahsennine was a student at Lake of Two Mountains High School, she had the opportunity to go to Italy and Greece. “Now it’s a core memory I will hold forever,” she said. “I hope to do the same with these youth.”

The students are on board for the most part, Kahsennine said, and she hopes everyone will coalesce around giving them this experience.

“If we all come together and work together, this trip is 100 percent achievable,” she said. “The price might be scary, but I would have never brought this opportunity forward if I didn’t think we could do it."

There is an enrolment fee of $198 or $594, according to Kahsennine, and if not enough is fundraised, the rest would have to come from parents. However, in the event of cancellation, 80 percent would be refunded.

For his part, Jeffrey is undaunted. He operated a “bingo bonanza” when Kahsennine, who is his daughter, was raising money for her high school trip, raising as much as $10,000 in two months. It’s one example of a way to get the trip funded if families band together, he said.

“For me, I’m always a glass is half full type of guy. There’s nothing that stands in my way,” he said, noting there’s over a year left to raise the funds.

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