Photo: Colin Butler | CBC News
Thisvending machine comeswith a difference. For a few brass tokens, it spits out indigenous books that are "culturally relevant" for children, said Sheree Plain, Akwe:Go program coordinator at the N'Amerind Friendship Centre. Plain works with Indigenous children between the ages of 7 and 12 to keep their cultural traditions alive while they live in the city, away from their community. "I can learn our language from these books and I feel like it inspires me, and I love it," said eight-year-old Kaida Lynn Aquash, the first customer. Kids love tokens and getting things, says Brian Warren, founder and director of Start2Finish, a charity that helps foster children'swell-being through fitness and education. He hopes the vending machine helps connect the kids with their own culture in ways their parents never had. "Once we help them learn to read, we have started them on the path to a brighter future."
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