Roman Heuft was more than 5,000 kilometres/3,100 miles away when his community, Blind Bay, British Columbia, received a wildfire evacuation order last August. “[The news] was pretty devastating,” said Heuft, who was serving as coordinator to...
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Ted Edbom came to know the North Shuswap area, British Columbia, over several decades as a Wonder Bread franchisee and Frito-Lay delivery driver. He recounts many faces, names and personalities, describing the community as close-knit, “really,...
A swarm of butterflies welcomed Isabelle Labelle to a lush, mountainside property in Celista, British Columbia, four years ago. “It was dreamy,” Labelle mused. With a south slope, a water source and good soil, it was just what she and her husband...
“It was eerily quiet.” Lytton, British Columbia, villagers moved as if in slow motion while the temperature climbed to a Canadian record high of 49.6 C/121.3 F. There was hardly an insect or bird in sight. And no wind. That’s what Owen Collings...
MDS is widely known as a disaster relief organization that is there for communities over the long haul. The organization’s response in Lytton, British Columbia, is a prime example. The village of approximately 250 people was flattened by an extreme...
“Things like this don’t happen to me,” said Wayne Roden, 66, with the frame of his new house and hum of a volunteer team in the background. Roden lost his home to the Bush Creek East Wildfire in August of last year. A resident of Scotch Creek,...
Jessica Lawrence wasn’t sure how things would come together when she agreed to coordinate volunteers for a Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Alberta Unit response. While she entered the role with administrative experience, it was her first time...
An eight-year-old kneels, with battery-operated drill in hand, over a sheet of plywood. He knows what to do. It’s a familiar scene at Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Family Projects. It’s amazing what young people can accomplish with the...
Denis Sabourin took a leap of faith when he signed up to volunteer with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) ten years ago. He was introduced to the organization in 2014 when a group of weekly volunteers received an outgoing blessing at his church, The...
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