YWCA NWT just got the green light to build a new early learning daycare for over 50 children in the city of Yellowknife.
Julie Green, who is YWCA NWT’s president, said that much work will have to be done to get the facility constructed at its central location downtown near Boston Pizza. Back in the spring, Green told True North FM recently that much of the funding will come from within the organization.
At a presentation in the spring, organization leaders said their goal is to open the new early learning and childcare facility by the end of March next year. The new daycare will be built from donated modular units donated by GNWT’s department of Education.
It’s music to the ears of many parents, guardians and children across the Yellowknife area who are struggling to access daycare and early learning services.
With each daycare in the city generally having “at least 50 people” on their waitlist at any given time, parents and guardians currently face a collective waitlist going “well into the hundreds,” Sarah, a co-ordinator with YWCA’s after-school program told True North FM.
“The demand for childcare spaces continues to rise, making it difficult for many women to enter the labour market due to challenges in finding safe, affordable and reliable childcare for their children,” representatives from YCWA noted in a recent announcement.
The plans to build the new daycare have been two years in the making, and the organization said they have faced “several roadblocks, setbacks and delays.”
Justt one year ago, the city rejected a previous application by the YWCA to build a daycare in the Niven Lake neighbourhood. Officials sited traffic concerns in the area.
Hawa Dumbuya-Sesay, who is YWCA NWT ‘s executive director, said that the new facility would have space for 56 children.
Julie Green, who is YWCA NWT’s president, told True North FM that feedback from the community has been very positive, parents and guardians have told her they are “excited” about the possibility of a new daycare in the city. Green said she has heard ongoing concerns from many parents and guardians across Yellowknife who are in need of reliable and safe daycare for their children.
Green and Sesay explained that the YWCA has acquired three lots located between 5106 to 5110 in the heart of the city on 48th Street to use for the new daycare facility.
The total cost is estimated to be 1.2 million. Green said this would mostly be sourced through the YWCA’s own funds.
The organization plans to allocate a certain portion of open spaces to staff members who want to register their children for daycare. “Two rows” would then be offered to children already registered before the general public can register.
