Yamid Enrique Grey Sandoval
—Columbia—
Intermediate 1
[Harvest Manitoba]
In the world there should be more helping hands than supporting wars where the only beneficiaries are people seeking power no matter how many children grow up without parents. Thank you HEARTLAND for supporting initiatives that contribute to finding the true richness of our hearts.
Betty Babasola
—Nigeria—
Advanced 2/3
[Harvest Manitoba]
It was a wholesome experience on Friday, 3rd of May when students at Heartland English School visited Harvest Manitoba located at Winnipeg Avenue. It is a custom for students to visit places and participate in events every Friday for social activities and bonding, but this event stood out for me personally because we got an opportunity to volunteer. Volunteering isn’t one of our strengths back in my home country, and this was a first for me. I have not felt this good about myself in a very long time, and this experience gave me an opportunity to get involved in a good cause and make some kind of impact to help others.
The previous day which was Thursday, we had the opportunity to learn about volunteering from a representative of Volunteer Manitoba, an organization that help people find suitable placements according to your preference, skills and abilities. There are a ton of establishments that offer volunteering opportunities such as Main Street Project, Siloam Mission, Prairie Strides, Meals on wheels, A&O Support services, MCC Thrift shops, Saint Boniface hospital, Needs, and a host of others. She highlighted some very crucial benefits of volunteering, which made sense, asides appealing to our humanity to render help to others in need.
Harvest Manitoba is one of such non-profit organization in Winnipeg put in place to help fight hunger by feeding hungry children, hardworking families, youths, and struggling adults who cannot fend for themselves, or who have financial shortcomings. There are thousands of donors who contribute food, funds, resources, and hours to keep the organization running successfully. Over three hundred and eighty food banks and agencies in every region of the province benefit from the distribution of healthy and nutritious food where residents can visit and help themselves to whatever they need for free. This initiative caters to over ninety thousand Manitobans, among which forty-nine percent are children.
When we arrived at the location, some students who brought food items to donate dropped them at the appropriate quarters. We were welcomed by Grace, a staff at Harvest Manitoba who took time to explain the purpose and mission of the organization to us. She enlightened us on how they operate, and the different departments located in the building. She offered to give us a tour of the warehouse, but before we went in, she played a short clip on the TV to educate us on safety measures to adhere to whilst inside. After the short lecture, we proceeded into the large warehouse and were each given a bright green protective vest to wear for easier identification by the forklift drivers. She then took us round the sections; we saw two very large compartments filled with potatoes and workers were sorting them into smaller bags. Grace informed us farmers usually donate them every month, as well as onions, vegetables, and carrots; depending on what was being harvested during that season. Next was the large area where we met another group of volunteers inspecting each item to see if they had already been opened or not, and if they were good enough to be given out before moving them to be further sorted. We then proceeded to the area where items were grouped and placed in labelled sections for easy classification and packaging.
We saw several forklifts and were advised to always be at alert to avoid them and walk only on the marked yellow lines indicated on the floors. We moved further to the area where lots of children toys were being kept, and it warmed my heart when Grace explained that they were given to children to brighten their mood and make them smile. We saw lots of children’s clothing as well and it’s a very good initiative what Harvest Manitoba is about. This will not only help to clothe children, but it will also save a lot of debris from landfills. There were large numbers of packaged foods on the main floor, and workers were busy arranging and organizing the items into smaller units to be distributed. Finally, we got to where we were scheduled to work. On a wide pallet were boxes containing eggs. Our job was to bring out the eggs, arrange them into smaller boxes, label each pack with the expiry dates, fill up the boxes, and then arrange them back on another pallet. There were four or five long tables, so we positioned ourselves and got right into it. It was an interesting experience as each group tried to outdo the other buy working as a team and having the most crates. New friendships were even formed through that task.
The exercise took us about one hour to finish, and it was a very fulfilling event for me, and I am sure that the others felt the same way too. We took turns to wash our hands, then we returned our vests and exited the warehouse. I decided there and then I was going to be a part of such incredible initiative. I would sign up to volunteer during my spare time and contribute my quota to helping people.
