By Kai & Niyah McKay

What would you do if a child showed up at your door with a food drive bag for you to fill? Inspired by friends from camp, Niyah McKay, 8, and her brother Kai, 11, explain why they’ve decided to help their community during the COVID-19 crisis. Two campers from InterVarsity Pioneer Camp Ontario, the siblings have spent time each week handing out bags in their neighbourhood. The bags can be filled with canned goods and other food products for food banks and homeless shelters. Below, Niyah and Kai reflect on what they’ve been discovering.

Niyah

Hi my name is Niyah McKay. I am 8 years old, and my favourite things to do are play Barbies, play LEGO, and I also like playing outside. My favourite colour is purple and my favourite animal is a dolphin or a giraffe. I live with my mom, Sheena, my dad, Phil, and my sister and brother, Eden and Kai.

Since the COVID virus has started, I have been feeling many different feelings. I have been missing my friends and I have been feeling bored and scared. But I have hope that God will turn COVID into something good.

My mom told me that there are a lot of hungry people in the world. These people aren’t getting food because nobody is giving food to the food banks. That’s the reason we started handing out food drive bags.

Handing out the bags was sometimes kind of uncomfortable because the mask was hard to breath with and the gloves would sometimes get sweaty, but we sometimes have to make sacrifices like this to show others we love them. We handed out the bags in the morning so there weren’t very many people outside.

In the time that we’re living in right now it is important to collect food for others because not very many people can get out and give food to the food banks.

From doing this project every week I have learned that there are a lot of people that don’t have a home or food.

For my camp friends reading this I just want to tell you that we need to love our neighbours even though it can sometimes be scary or hard, but it can make a big difference in the world if you do!

Kai

Hi my name is Kai McKay, and I am eleven years old. I like to play LEGO and play outside with my friends. But like the rest of you, I am in quarantine and do not have the chance to play with my friends or see them in school.

This time is really hard for me because I used to spend pretty much my whole day with my friends at school, and I would even see some friends after school too. So now that I am separated from them I have pretty much nothing to do.

We got the idea of handing out bags from our friends. We decided to do the bags because, if it was hard for us to get food from the store, it must be super hard for the people who don’t have money to buy food.

It is kind of hard because we have to wear a mask that is super uncomfortable. It is also scary because we have to go up to strangers’ door steps and put a bag there for them (sometimes there are even people outside). But what keeps us going is the fact that we are going to feed someone who probably only gets to eat once a day or maybe even a week!

I think it is really important to give to the needy because now that nobody is out doing food drives, the food banks are running out of food. That means that the poor do not have food either since that is their only source.

I have learned that there are a lot of people who don’t have food or money. I have also learned that our neighbours are very generous by giving a lot of food to the food banks.

I want to tell my friends from camp to follow the Golden Rule, especially when you are upset and annoyed by your siblings or parents. Do to others what you would have them do to you. -Matthew 7: 12

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