Loss gives way to connection

“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, British Columbia, he knew the fire was coming but was surprised by the destruction of his own property. In addition to his house, the fire destroyed outbuildings, tools and equipment.

Roden had moved to the small lakeside community from White Rock, British Columbia three years earlier. He spent most of his early retirement years fixing up an old home and tending to the property in Scotch Creek.

Roden didn’t know the community well before the fire came through. But he was contacted by Ted Danyluk of the North Shuswap Disaster Relief Society, who had taken note of his plight.

“I didn’t have a lot of faith in anybody,” said Roden. He had a hard time looking at the destruction on his property and wanted people to stay away. “I don’t need help. I’m good.”

It took Danyluk’s persistent check-ins for Roden to reach out to MDS. He was skeptical that it would lead to tangible aid but decided the contact was worth a try. To Roden’s surprise, the organization offered to build him a house.

Wayne Roden in front of his new house, under construction by MDS volunteers.
MDS photo/Nikki Hamm Gwala

“Who would have ever thought… I would have never guessed that I would end up with a new home. It’s the best possible thing that could have happened,” he reflected.

Before the fire, no more than a handful of people had visited Roden’s mountainside property. Since his house construction began in April, he has hosted dozens of volunteers and come to know a generous and friendly Shuswap community.

“It’s been one good thing after another,” he said. “Working with the [volunteers] has been really incredible because they’re all such a bunch of great people.”

Roden prioritizes making the volunteers comfortable and helps on the construction site where he can. He set up a tent frame and offers volunteers cinnamon buns, popsicles, salty snacks, soda and conversation over coffee breaks.

It’s led to friendships he hadn’t anticipated — Roden is already planning a trip to Austin, Manitoba, to visit volunteers-turned-friends.

“The whole thing has just been a really, really, really great experience. Probably the best time of my life,” he said.

Nikki Hamm Gwala, MDS Canada Communications