On the 17th August, my youth group (Rowville SDA Church) and I went over to Queen Victoria Markets to volunteer with ADRA Victoria in their city outreach program.
Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 7:30 pm ADRA hand out food and clothes to the less fortunate at QVM, which I have helped with before. But this was my first time taking part in their city outreach program.
For those of you wondering what the ‘city outreach’ is, it’s basically a group of people going out into the Melbourne CBD and giving out food, blankets and toiletries to those living on the streets. Hence the term outreach.
We created food packages from the food provided by ADRA to hand out and stacked our backpacks with goodies donated from local SDA churches to give away. Then we were given the rules of conduct before heading on our way. We were warned that this would be a 2-hour walk so those that knew they would get tired had the option of staying back. However, everyone seemed keen to walk including our youth leader, Maureens’ two sons, (6yrs and 4yrs). We were led by Rebecca Auriant the ADRA VIC Director and her son Ethan.
As we were walking the streets, we were met with the hustle of a typical Saturday night in the city. Everyone was out with their friends or family having a good time. It felt weird because normally that would be me on a Saturday night not paying any mind to those in need around me. But now I was actively searching out the needy and the homeless, I was seeing the city from a whole new perspective. It was an out-of-body experience, to say the least.
Initially, I knew this was going to be out of our comfort zones. For many of us, this was the first time we were doing anything like this. And you could see the reservations in our youth’s faces, so we let Rebecca take the lead for us. She became our spokesperson until we got comfortable to do it on our own.
What surprised me the most was as confronting as this was for us, those that we were helping didn’t mind us coming up to them. They were more welcoming than we were open. In addition our youth leaders’ two little boys were more eager to talk and interact than us elder kids. I admired their boldness. They didn’t look at the world the way we did, they just wanted to help. Her eldest son, 6, had his own little backpack full of goodies which he held open in front of him as he didn’t want to delay the process of giving back by having to take off his bag and then unzip it. These kids were not playing any games. They sorta put us to shame. And this is why the Lord tells us to be like children.
And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:3
Once we started to finally hand out some food packages to the people we met along the way, then it became real. These were normal people they spoke like you and I, had a life like you and I but now because of unforeseen circumstances they were homeless.
Every time we spoke to them or gave them something, I realised how thankful they were. And it’s not like we were giving them major gifts these were just basic necessities that everyone should have access to, drinking water; toiletries; food and warmth. We are so privileged to have a home to go to, a comfortable bed to sleep in, a family that loves and cares for us. But how grateful are we for all these things? When was the last time we said a sincere thank you?
We ought to be more thankful every day for the blessings God has given us. And give back to those who don’t have the luxuries we have. It doesn’t have to be a massive gesture, your time and ears are more than enough.
If you want to help volunteer with ADRA Vic at the QVM they are there every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 pm. Or if you want to help in the city outreach contact Rebecca at [email protected]
Fun Fact: There are roughly 300 homeless people in Melbourne CBD but only around 100 beds to offer in crisis accommodations.