Mennonite Weekly Review

WINNIPEG, Man.—Juan Raul Junay, 25, never tires of explaining how Canadian mining companies are affecting farming communities in his home country of Guatemala.

Juan Raul Junay visits a wheat field at the harvest of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank growing project near Niverville, Man. — Photo by Mennonite Central Committee

“Mines give people jobs but there is long term environmental destruction,” explained Junay, who is from Guatemala City.

Junay is returning to Guatemala this month after serving a year at Canadian Foodgrains Bank in Winnipeg as part of Mennonite Central Committee’s International Volunteer Exchange Program.

As one of the speakers in CFGB’s people to people program, Junay has spoken at more than 60 public gatherings in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

“Mining is not evil but there must be more regulations to make mining operations less destructive,” Junay said.

Junay is one of 58 young people from 23 countries participating in IVEP, which is preparing to mark its 60th anniversary. The program provides training through volunteer placements in Canada and the U.S.

A month after starting his placement, he participated in the harvest of a CFGB community growing project in Niverville.

“It was the first time I saw such large combines and so many combines on one field,” he said. “It was the first time I saw such large trucks and the large wheat fields.”

He was impressed by how farmers worked together to produce crops donated to CFGB for overseas food aid and agricultural development projects.

Junay visited the small southwestern Manitoba town of Strathclair in early February. This was his first road trip on icy and snow-covered roads. He observed the wide open spaces of the Canadian prairies and was surprised at the isolation of rural farm yards.

“It was the first time I saw houses so far apart,” he said.

When they reached Strathclair, he experienced the warmth of small-town hospitality and the serene silence of a winter’s night in a rural community.

“In this town I saw a different lifestyle,” said Junay. “Strathclair is only three hours from Winni­peg, but it is so different. I knew I would remember this forever.”