A Suffolk priest is settling back into life in the UK after spending a year living in an Inuit community in the Arctic.

Rev Enid Pow, the new priest in charge of the Four Rivers Benefice in Suffolk, spent last year as a mission priest in the community of Kuujjuaq, the largest Inuit community in the Nunavik region of Quebec, Canada, having lived in Canada for the last ten years. 

Rev Pow said that the locals spoke their native language, Inuktitut, so the services had to be done with a translator. 

She added: "It’s such a different environment, the nights are very long and dark there, so you have to adjust psychologically to it." 

East Anglian Daily Times: Rev Pow's church in Kuujjuaq under the northern lights, Enid PowRev Pow's church in Kuujjuaq under the northern lights, Enid Pow (Image: Enid Pow)

Sadly, the community in Kuujjuaq is still suffering the disastrous effects of actions taken by the Canadian government last century, where families were forcibly moved and resettled. 

Rev Pow explained: "They are traditionally a nomadic, hunter-gatherer society but were forced into settlements in the 60s and 70s. 

"The Royal Mounted Police had tried to disrupt their way of life by killing all their sled dogs. 

East Anglian Daily Times: The lead dog from the winners of the village sled dog races, Enid PowThe lead dog from the winners of the village sled dog races, Enid Pow (Image: Enid Pow)

"Inuit children were taken from their families to boarding schools, with many not returning to their home communities for years. 

"It has been catastrophic to their community, as they have lost a generation of parenting skills and families. They have never really recovered from it." 

Despite the historic trauma the community has faced, Rev Pow said they were among the most generous people she has ever met. 

East Anglian Daily Times: Rev Pow's neighbours in the Community of Kuujjuaq, Enid PowRev Pow's neighbours in the Community of Kuujjuaq, Enid Pow (Image: Enid Pow)

Rev Pow was welcomed to the Four Rivers Benefice, which oversees churches in Bedfield, Brundish, Cratfield, Laxfield, Monk Soham, Tannington and Wilby in a special service in February. 

"I’m new to Suffolk and really love it here – it’s a very pretty part of the world," she said. 

"My father was in the RAF, so I have lived all over the place – I’ve had quite a nomadic life. 

"The people have been really lovely and supportive here, it’s a very friendly place to live."