Fleeing political persecution in her home country of Uganda, Joan, her husband, and small children arrived in Canada as refugees in September 2023.
“It wasn’t so easy settling in,” recalls Joan. “We moved from shelter to shelter until we were connected with Ramiro House, which gave us housing and helped us access the services we needed to start building our life here.”
Once settled, Joan was determined to give back to the community that had helped her so much. That’s when she found Daily Bread Food Bank.
Joan started volunteering with Daily Bread’s Information and Referral team, helping connect clients with services beyond food access, like medical, dental, and eye care. “There is something about giving back to the community. Canada has blessed us, it has received us, it has taken care of us. So how are we supposed to say thank you if not through volunteering? Now, we are building a nation together.”
Dependent on the limited income they received from Ontario Works, Joan and her family struggled to make ends meet. Knowing her challenges, a Daily Bread staff member encouraged her to access the food bank.
“Food from Daily Bread has supplemented what we can buy. Without it, I don’t know what we would have done. There is a saying: You have to sew your clothes according to the size of your cloth – and Daily Bread has helped make our cloth a little bigger.”
Joan’s story is not unique: According to Who’s Hungry 2024, 4 in 5 new clients to Daily Bread Food Bank are newcomers to Canada.
Now, Joan encourages others to support Daily Bread. “You may think you can only give something small, but if many people give a little, it will become something big and many families will benefit.”
“I look forward to the time I can donate to Daily Bread myself. It is another way of caring for your neighbours,” says Joan.
Join Joan in building a stronger community by donating or volunteering today.
