Bringing Warmth to the Great North

April 1, 2026

Knights brave Manitoba’s ice roads to bring aid to a First Nations community in need

By Campbell MacDiarmid

April 1, 2026

The K of C caravan arrives at Sacred Heart Church in Pukatawagan, Manitoba. — The K of C caravan completes its ice road trek, arriving at Sacred Heart Church in Pukatawagan, Manitoba, a Mathias Colomb Cree Nation settlement. (Photo by Colby Spence)

The sign at the turnoff from Manitoba Highway 10 offered a terse warning of the conditions ahead: “WINTER ROAD … Drive with extreme care!” A second sign listed the destination: “Pukatawagan — Status: CLOSED.”

While closed for commercial use, the ice road would be passable for the three vehicles idling on the shoulder north of The Pas, Manitoba, their exhaust rising into the freezing air. Inside, four Knights contemplated the journey ahead.

There would be no more asphalt. The group would travel nearly 160 kilometers (100 miles) along snow-covered dirt roads and over frozen lakes to reach one of the most isolated settlements in Canada. In the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation settlement of Pukatawagan — a community that has faced a series of severe challenges in recent years — the Knights would show residents how to assemble the 22 wooden bed frames they had crafted by hand and shipped by rail through a partnership with Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

They also brought seven wheelchairs for the local nursing station in partnership with the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation, along with 500 winter jackets through the Knights of Columbus Coats for Kids program. The latter delivery marked a record-breaking 300,000 coats donated across Canada and the United States during the 2025-26 winter season, exceeding last year’s record of 286,000.

“Anybody can do a donation locally,” said Manitoba State Deputy Mark Desjardins, principal organizer of the mission. “This project was about going past Winnipeg — going where people wouldn’t normally get that help.”

Sisters show off their new winter jackets with help from Cleo Castillo, a Knights of Columbus general agent based in Winnipeg. — Sisters Tasha and Chnaelle show off their new winter jackets with help from Cleophas “Cleo” Castillo, a Knights of Columbus general agent based in Winnipeg. (Photo by Colby Spence)

A COMMUNITY IN ‘DIRE NEED’

Pukatawagan is situated more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) northwest of Winnipeg, the provincial capital, and part of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, an Indigenous community of approximately 4,000 members. Services are limited, with no year-round road connection to the outside world.

Instead, the Keewatin Railway runs trains twice a week to the town of The Pas — a one-way trip of 11 hours — though residents say the service is frequently disrupted. In summer, the only alternative is costly air travel, making winter — when seasonal ice roads open — the most reliable time for independent travel to the settlement.

This isolation has exacerbated serious challenges in recent years. Last summer, the entire community was under evacuation orders due to massive wildfires — the second such evacuation since 2022.

Residents were flown out on Canadian Air Force CC-130 airplanes and Chinook helicopters. Each was allowed to bring only a single carry-on bag of possessions. For months, they were scattered in hotels across Manitoba and as far away as Niagara Falls, Ontario, separated from their community and culture. Their prolonged displacement led to an increase in mental health challenges, according to Barbara Dumas, the local health director.

“We’re dealing with the physical, the mental, the spiritual and the emotional part of the trauma,” she said.

Although the fires spared Pukatawagan, further distress awaited residents when they returned home to find their homes damaged by months of vacancy.

Manitoba Knights and other volunteers participate in a bed build with Sleep in Heavenly Peace in Winnipeg. — Manitoba Knights and other volunteers sand wood for children’s beds during a Feb. 24 build with Sleep in Heavenly Peace in Winnipeg. (Photo by Mike Sudoma)

“They deteriorate because nobody’s using them,” explained Dumas, citing issues such as moisture damaging furniture — bedding in particular.

The deterioration, in turn, worsened an already severe overcrowding problem.

Meanwhile in Winnipeg, State Deputy Desjardins was looking for ways the Knights could take bold action in service of the province’s Indigenous communities, so he asked Archbishop Murray Chatlain of Winnipeg where their efforts could make the greatest impact. Shortly before Christmas, Archbishop Chatlain emailed priests across the province, inviting them to connect with the Knights of Columbus initiative.

Fransalian Father Dhana Raju Amarlapudi, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Pukatawagan for nine years, responded the same day.

“I [described] the dire need and the overcrowded houses,” Father Amarlapudi said. “A lot of people sleep on the floor.”

The archbishop — who previously led two dioceses serving remote communities in the Northwest Territories and northern Saskatchewan — directed Desjardins to Pukatawagan, where Father Amarlapudi said the community would be especially receptive to help from the Knights.

The idea of a mission to a remote northern community was enthusiastically received by the Supreme Council, Desjardins said, as it embodied the Order’s founding principles of charity and unity.

“Pope Francis told us to go out and serve,” Desjardins said, referring to the pontiff’s 2022 trip to Canada focused on healing and reconciliation. During his homily at Lac Ste. Anne in Alberta — a site of significance to First Nations peoples — the pope said, “We need to look more to the peripheries and listen to the cry of the least of our brothers and sisters.”

Manitoba State Deputy Mark Desjardins greets Fransalian Father Dhana Raju Amarlapudi. — Manitoba State Deputy Mark Desjardins greets Fransalian Father Dhana Raju Amarlapudi, pastor, before the priest’s exemplification into the Knights of Columbus at Sacred Heart Church. (Photo by Colby Spence)

The mission began in Winnipeg, where the Knights joined forces with Sleep in Heavenly Peace to build 22 beds for the children of Pukatawagan.

A volunteer-run charity dedicated to ensuring no child sleeps on the floor, Sleep in Heavenly Peace’s Winnipeg chapter was founded in 2020 by local law enforcement officers. While the chapter has grown to provide about 800 beds annually — complete with mattress and bedding — partnering with the Knights of Columbus expanded the charity’s reach, according to Bonnie Emerson, superintendent of community engagement for the Winnipeg Police Service and a chapter co-founder.

“We don’t have the capacity to go into northern communities or organize volunteers across the province,” said Emerson, a member of Sandy Bay First Nation. “Partnerships with organizations such as the Knights of Columbus make this possible, because they came to us and said they would organize the logistics.”

THE JOURNEY NORTH

After a day in which more than 20 Knights spent sanding, drilling and sealing wooden frames, the crated bedframes — alongside bedding, wheelchairs and winter coats — were sent by truck and rail to Pukatawagan. Four Knights followed by winter road — bringing additional coats and wheelchairs in their vehicles — to connect with residents during the distribution and demonstrate how to assemble the beds.

It was the morning of Feb. 27 when the foursome set off from The Pas, where they had stayed overnight after driving from Winnipeg the previous day.

The convoy traveled north through charred boreal forest, seeing few signs of civilization — save for the rusted hulk of an abandoned car. A lone coyote was a rare sign of life on the journey, Desjardins recalled.

The going was slow, as a recent storm followed by a warm spell had turned parts of the road into a morass of frozen mush. But when the route crossed lakes, the vehicles were able to speed across the smooth surface of the ice.

Driving over frozen bodies of water was anxiety-inducing for Cleophas “Cleo” Castillo, a Knights of Columbus general agent based in Winnipeg.

Past Grand Knight Tony Kusiak of Fathers A & J Kulawy Council 9790 places wooden slats into a new bed frame in a Pukatawagan home. — Past Grand Knight Tony Kusiak of Fathers A & J Kulawy Council 9790 in Winnipeg places wooden slats into a new bed frame in a Pukatawagan home. (Photo by Colby Spence)

“I was clutching my rosary,” the Filipino native recalled with a chuckle. “A lot of prayers on the way!”

The final section of road was unplowed and particularly challenging, forcing the vehicles to drive in wheel ruts through a foot of snow, recalled District Deputy Vaughn Wadelius, a member of Charlebois Council 2704 in The Pas.

For Tony Kusiak, past grand knight of Fathers A & J Kulawy Council 9790 in Winnipeg, the tough going on the final stretch of road on his first trip to a northern reserve left a lasting impression.

“I think we all got stuck at least once on that part of the journey,” he recalled.

As the convoy arrived in Pukatawagan, the turquoise A-frame of Sacred Heart Church, with its galvanized steel bell tower, greeted them from atop a snow-covered hill like a beacon.

“We don’t have the capacity to go into northern communities or organize volunteers across the province. Partnerships with organizations such as the Knights of Columbus make this possible.”

After being warmly welcomed by parishioners, the Knights were offered a quick buffet lunch featuring locally caught pickerel before heading back into the elements to distribute the donated goods. The weather was a relatively balmy -15 degrees Celsius (5 F), allowing Desjardins — a hardy Winnipegger — to work bare-armed in his Knights of Columbus polo.

The Knights demonstrated how to assemble the beds in the home of Nancy Dumas, a mother of eight and grandmother of 20. Two of her grandsons, George and Adrian, ages 10 and 11, grinned broadly as they jumped into their new bunk beds.

“I’m grateful that they came, that they’re here setting up the beds for the boys,” Dumas said of the Knights’ visit. “It’ll give them comfort.”

District Deputy Vaughn Wadelius helps a child into a new coat during the distribution in the parish hall of Sacred Heart Church. — District Deputy Vaughn Wadelius helps a child into a new coat during the distribution in the parish hall of Sacred Heart Church in Pukatawagan, Manitoba, a Mathias Colomb Cree Nation settlement. (Photo by Colby Spence)

‘A HUGE MILESTONE’

At the Nikawiy Health Nursing Station, director Barbara Dumas described how the delivery of wheelchairs had bypassed the usual bureaucratic ordeal of procuring medical equipment for the remote community.

“So much red tape,” said the 47-year veteran of community health, describing a monthslong process. “By the time it comes in, there’s no need for the wheelchair.”

After decades of service to her community, Dumas recognized in the Knights’ journey a reflection of her own values.

“My father always said, even if you [only] have a penny with you, give it away, because it’s going to come back to you in one form or another,” she said. “That’s how I live as a Catholic.”

As the Knights left the nursing station, she sent them on their way with a message of thanks.

“You’re welcome here anytime you want. Just don’t get lost if you’re traveling.”

At the next stop in the whirlwind day, the four Knights distributed coats to children in the parish hall of Sacred Heart Church, where a noticeboard was adorned with a hand-painted sign reading “THANK YOU! KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS.”

Children complete arts and crafts as they wait for winter jackets to be distributed by the Knights at Sacred Heart Church. (Photo by Colby Spence)

Father Amarlapudi had originally asked for 50 coats, but when Desjardins learned that 500 children lived in the community, the Knights sent 500. The increase meant the delivery included the 300,000th winter coat donated by the Knights of Columbus in Canada and the United States this season.

“Delivering 300,000 coats is a huge milestone, because that means there were 300,000 kids who didn’t have proper winter wear,” Desjardins said. “Providing coats to kids is providing a standard of living that everybody should have.”

A final highlight of the mission came when Desjardins formally brought Father Amarlapudi into the Knights of Columbus during an exemplification of charity, unity and fraternity.

Father Amarlapudi had followed the work of the Knights for years, but the visit to Pukatawagan confirmed his desire to join.

“I can be a spokesman,” he said. “They can use me as a channel to spread more about the Knights of Columbus.”

The Knights had been in Pukatawagan for only a matter of hours, but with their work complete and a worsening weather forecast, they hastened to return to The Pas before continuing to Winnipeg the following day.

A councillor for the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation speaks with Knights at Nikawiy Health Nursing Station. — Connie Constant, a councillor for the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, speaks with Manitoba State Deputy Mark Desjardins and other Knights at Nikawiy Health Nursing Station. (Photo by Colby Spence)

During the long drive back, snow began to fall, and the Knights had time to reflect on the mission. Desjardins believed it had been a powerful example of what Knights of Columbus can accomplish. But he was just as impressed by the resilience of the Pukatawagan community.

“If we send more beds up there, I wouldn’t be concerned about putting them on the train,” he said. “It was about showing people what they can do [for themselves].”

For Castillo — who had overcome his hesitation about the winter roads — the needs he witnessed in Pukatawagan energized him to search for other underserved northern communities that could benefit from aid from the Knights of Columbus.

Turning to Desjardins, he recalled exclaiming: “Let’s do it again!”

*****

CAMPBELL MACDIARMID is a journalist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation based in Ottawa, Ontario.

Knights gather on benches along Main Street in Nantucket, Mass.

Bringing Warmth to the Great North

A COMMUNITY IN ‘DIRE NEED’

THE JOURNEY NORTH

‘A HUGE MILESTONE’

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