While in Greenland, every week the MS Fram holds an on board charity auction to raise money for the Association of Greenlandic Children and for Siorapaluk students for study tours in Greenland or Denmark. The school is located in the town of Qaanaaq (Thule). Qaanaaq is the northernmost inhabited settlement in the world. There are about 14 children in grades one through nine . As one can imagine it is very expensive to travel from Qaanaaq because of the great distances involved. Last evening we raised 12,000 Norwegian Kroner. Last year in Greenland we raised 170,000 Kroner in total!
Today we made our weekly visit to the tiny community of Itilleq. Rasmus Lyberth entertained everyone with another impromptu concert while the weekly soccer match raged on at the same time.
Rasmus dedicated his first song entitled Takuat Paninnguaq (Look Up Little Daughter) to a young Greenland woman and her baby. The song is well known throughout Greenland. It is about a man singing to his sick daughter to comfort her. He tells his child to look out at the stars and the moon and to listen to the birds singing in the morning and then she will be better. 
It was very touching. The young woman from Itilleq could not hold back her tears while her Greenland Folk music hero serenaded her and her baby.We see the children of Greenland almost everyday in tiny communities like Itilleq and Ukkusissat. We are invited into people's homes. They come to visit us on the Fram. We experience the nature of Greenland everyday. We feel a connection. A charity auction is a small way that we can give back to Greenland.
