Year 11 boys give back to the community Every weekday morning in Term 1 2022, three that cared. The experience granted me insight into the problems that Year 11 boys were rostered on to assist with so many face every day. It made me grateful for the opportunities that I have been provided throughout my life. And it made me invested food preparation and service at The Rev Bill in finding similar work that I could do for the disadvantaged in the Crews Foundation’s Loaves & Fishes Restaurant future.’ in Ashfield. This organisation prepares and Jack Jones serves meals to disadvantaged members of ‘There is usually a stereotype of what you’ll see when thinking of our Inner West community. homeless people, however there were various people who visited the van who did not fit that stereotype. It was an eye-opening experience Also, each Friday night three of our boys – assisted by a volunteer that I wish more people would be able to experience as it changed my staff member – went to the streets of Woolloomooloo where they view on the homeless as I learned how nice the clients are. I learned served food to the city’s needy community, as part of our Dessert firstly what amazing people the volunteers are and learning stories Van Program. This program is a somewhat confronting but an about the homeless and the volunteers was so interesting that it important, eye-opening experience for our participants, who all made me start to compare and reflect on my life.’ report that they derive a sense of personal satisfaction from Stratos Skotadis making a small difference to other people’s lives. ‘The experience made me feel even more sympathetic for Sydney’s Mr Mick Madden homeless community, seeing that many might seem okay when in Head of Service Learning reality, they may not possess a home, food and other necessities in life. I realised that not all homeless and disadvantaged people fit the stereotype assigned to them. Many unfortunate people were both intelligent and sociable. Finally, I was able to get a sense of Loaves & Fishes – What do the boys think? fulfillment and joy from helping these people, particularly when seeing someone arrive at the ‘dessert van’ sad and then walk Josh Byrne away with a smile on their face.’ ‘The clients that I served weren’t all the typically disadvantaged Ari Kritikos people you’d expect to be there with rugged clothes and nothing ‘The clients seemed like everyday people – they dressed, looked to their name. Many were also backpackers who were down on and talked like everyday people. You wouldn’t see them in the street luck. I think the amount of disadvantaged people in the Inner and think they were homeless or needy. This experience helped West is at a level higher than other Sydney areas and that it is a me understand that there are people that aren’t fortunate in our prevalent issue we must fix. I personally gained valuable insight I society, and it is important to make them feel included in society couldn’t get anywhere else that I usually go. Being at Newington and provide items for them that others get every day. I learnt that means that it is hard to know what disadvantaged people are whatever someone looks like on the outside doesn’t correspond truly like, what they do and where they hang out.’ to what they are going through internally, and we shouldn’t judge Koby Owen others for the circumstances that they are in. What surprised me about the clients was that there were no women being served. ‘Attending Loaves & Fishes made me feel sympathy for the All the clients were men, somewhere between the ages of 25-70. disadvantaged people of our community. It also made me I noticed that they enjoyed talking to us as servers and enjoyed the question deeply if I take what I am given for granted. I learnt that company of the other people being served. We also offered many all people experience the same adversities and that you should food packets to the clients, and they felt guilty for taking too much never judge somebody by what you see.’ food, even though we had plenty of stock and were very willing to Dessert Van Program give them extra food. I also noticed that there were some regulars, as the manager on the night knew most of their names and was – What do the boys think? able to have a personal conversation with them. This showed me that Sydney’s homeless community is being progressively more James Adams cared for by many people, and many people are taking initiative ‘What surprised me about the clients that I served was the in ensuring that our fellow Sydneysiders are being well looked after. diverse background of people who came for the food. Many I personally learnt that there are people who struggle in our society, races, ages, and even a wide range of financial situations. It was and we shouldn’t take what we are given in life for granted.’ a sobering sight to see a man only a few years older than me in line. This experience definitely made me feel sad because of the sheer number of people that were struggling in some way or another. But it did make me feel hopeful about the future, as I realised that there would always be a helping hand and somebody Images from clockwise from left: The container at Tupou College in July 2017; The Newington Food Bowl at Tupou College; George Houvardos, Andres El Khouri and Stratos Skotadis volunteering for the Rev Bill Crews Foundation at Woolloomooloo in February; In Week 8 of Term 1, the SRC hosted a barbecue to raise money for the Newington Food Bowl paddock at Tupou College. Curiosity | News Autumn 2022 | Stanmore7–12 | 15