ALSO Winnipeg -- Days 1 & 2

We spent most of Monday on the road. We left RJC at 7:30 am and were able to reach Winnipeg in time to meet our MCC Winnipeg contact, Rachelle, and learn about the issues in Winnipeg. Like a lot of other places, Winnipeg is segregated into communities of poverty and wealth. The unique thing about this city is that there is a physical divide between the north (poor) and south (wealthy): a row of about 40 train tracks. We talked about the different people in the north end, and learned that they are largely First Nations and Immigrant families. We also talked about a few things that have been done (or attempted to be done) to combat the "problem" of the north end and how some of these solutions were not feasible or were just band aid solutions. We went to bed ready and willing to learn more about the north end and to get to know a few of the interesting people that live and work in the north end.

Tuesday morning we started off listening to Dale Messyabit speak about his experiences. Dale, a residential school survivor, spoke of his educational experiences and how he survived living on the streets for the greater part of his teens. Dale, with the help of some friends, was instrumental in creating a safe place for street kids to learn and be successful. The facility is still operating in the north end today (it has been going for about 20 years). Dale was very inspirational to us as we started our ALSO plunge.

Tuesday afternoon was spent at Winnipeg Harvest, which is a food warehouse. The food that is donated to Harvest is distributed to many food banks and meal places throughout Winnipeg, including school programs and soup kitchens. We got a fantastic tour of the facilities and had a great time bagging bulk rice and sorting pasta. Nothing makes the job go faster without a little healthy competition either.

The group at Winnipeg Harvest

Eric Lo sorts pasta

Bagging rice
Good work!The Rice Off

Winnipeg citizens have recently been concerned with the actions of the police. We met with an organization, CopWatch Winnipeg, who spoke about what they do to "police the police" and ensure that law enforcers are held accountable for their actions. We learned about what our rights are as citizens and some ways in which the police are being monitored by citizens.

Jezreel and Sarah from CopWatch role play