MDS involvement at former residential school “gives hope” for the future

The former Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford, Ont., where youth from across Canada served in 2019 as part of a Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) summer youth project, officially opened on Sept. 30, 2025.

Volunteers from Stirling Mennonite Church, Kitchener, ON.

A total of 74 youth from Mennonite churches in Ontario and B.C. served at the former school through the project, which was a partnership between MDS Canada, the MCC Indigenous Neighbours Program, and the Woodlands Cultural Centre which operates the school as a living museum to tell the story of how residential schools impacted Indigenous people in Canada.

While at the former school, the youth built desks, tables, and benches for a representative classroom and dining hall, and moved thousands of books and files to the library.

Nicholas Hamm of Vineland, Ont. was the director of that summer’s youth project. He attended the opening. “Many people we talked to remarked on the furniture our volunteers had built,” he said.

While Hamm is glad that MDS could be a part of the restoration of the former school, he is also glad that the work done by volunteers can “restore hope to the families of the survivors” and help others who visit the former school “be part of the necessary reconciliation.” (Read Hamm’s reflection about the opening)

For David Brubacher, who worked with youth to help them build the furniture for the school, the experience was “eye-opening and humbling.”

David Brubacher (left) with volunteers from St. Jacobs Mennonite Church building desks.

Now the chair of the MDS Canada board, Brubacher says before his involvement in the project he had a broad understanding of the residential school system—and how it failed indigenous people in Canada.

But by hearing survivors tell their stories while serving at the school, he gained a deeper appreciation for the impact it had on Indigenous families.

“It brought it home to me in a deeply personal way,” he said. “The residential school system was a disaster 150 years in the making. It was appropriate for MDS to be involved.”

The overall impact for Brubacher about the project “was experiencing the hospitality of the Indigenous community,” he said.

“Working with the staff at the Woodland Cultural Centre and personal interactions with several survivors gave me a hope that there are new ways for those of us who are settlers in this land to relate with our Indigenous people,” he added. “My worldview was significantly broadened.”

The former Mohawk Institute Residential School was the oldest and longest running residential school in Canada, operating from 1828-1970. Learn more at https://woodlandculturalcentre.ca

John Longhurst, MDS Canada writer