Bursary helps Wiky youth pursue carpentry

TORONTO – A Wikwemikong youth is the 2013 recipient of the Bill Messenger Memorial Bursary, awarded by the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres to support young urban Aboriginal men wishing to pursue their education after high school.

Wilfred Rivers, 18, currently living in Ottawa, was raised with two older sisters and a brother in Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve. His grandmother’s phone was the only one available for use.

A  graduating student of Immaculata High School, he will be continuing his studies in the Cabinetmaking and Furniture Technician Program at Algonquin College.  He plans to use his $3,000 award to pay for his program and to support him in his path to becoming a carpenter.  Growing up, Wilfred was intimately aware of the housing problems faced by his family and his community, and wants to give back to his nation by building and rebuilding homes that are safe to live in for generations to come.

The bursary is named after the Late Bill Messenger, Turtle Clan, Alderville First Nation, who served as an Elder to the OFIFC board.