It wasn’t going to be just any old school project — it had to have an impact.
So, best friends James Lesyk and Ndidi Wamy, who’ve just graduated from Vincent Massey Collegiate, organized a food drive and food insecurity education program for schools in the Pembina Trails School Division.
For their efforts, Lesyk and Wamy received the Outstanding Take Action Project Award from the Manitoba Council for International Co-operation on June 7.
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Longtime volunteers and best friends James Lesyk (left) and Ndidi Wamy stand beside the food they helped collect for charity from nine different schools.
The pair started out with a food drive at four schools in May 2023, and the idea quickly grew.
Lesyk and Wamy credit their friend Semi Kumolu-Johnson for helping them get the initial idea off the ground. The students noticed interest in their school’s previous food drives had fizzled. So they decided to pitch their idea to other schools in the community.
“If we reached out to younger schools, older schools, and just different places in our community, we knew that, if we could do that, and run it at a larger scale, we could ultimately have a more successful drive,” said Wamy.
Lesyk and Wamy said it became clear they needed to do something when they noticed the need for food banks grow after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harvest Manitoba, the province’s largest food bank, helps about 50,000 people every month.
“We thought that if we could help out, even one can of soup could help out families across the city. So we thought that with our leadership experience and the outreach that we would do, we could try to have an impact even in a small way,” said Lesyk.
With the help of their teachers, advisers, and high school club, Lesyk and Wamy reached out to schools in Pembina Trails to get students and teachers on board with the food drive. The project ran last year from Nov. 20 to Dec. 20 and included nine schools, the majority being elementary and junior high schools.
When the project closed, almost 800 kilograms of food had been donated to Harvest Manitoba, along with six food hampers.
Lesyk and Wamy also created a presentation they took to schools to teach students about food insecurity and the needs of Winnipeggers.
“At elementary schools, we found that the kids there were a lot more invested in helping out.” said Lesyk. “We got a lot of high fives, and I felt they looked up to us and thought ‘Maybe we could do this, too.’”
Lesyk and Wamy kept their project’s momentum going in June, even though graduation was right around the corner.
The pair organized one final food drive with Crane School and helped collect 120 kilograms of food for charity.
Both students have been volunteering and working with charities since they were in Grade 6, at places such as Siloam Mission and Koats for Kids.
“It’s always been something that both of us have been involved in. So taking on something like the food drive wasn’t really outside of our comfort zone,” said Wamy.
The duo had no expectation their project would be noticed, let alone rewarded.
“It was really just self-fulfilling knowing that we’re making a difference, but when you’re finally recognized for this work, it does feel really good,” said Wamy
Their friendship has gotten stronger throughout the project, and they both feel inspired to leave a legacy behind for other students.
The Outstanding Take Action Award is given to students who create “exceptional” projects for the Global Issues Grade 12 high school course. The prize includes $250 and a certificate.
matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca