There are moments in your life where you need to give your time to other people.
Irian
Soon we will say goodbye to volunteer Irian, a young man who grew up in Tahiti, an island part of French Polynesia in the Central South Pacific Ocean. It’s a French version of Hawaii, Irian says. In total, the islands together have a population of just 275k people. He currently studies Business Studies in France as he was keen to experience a ‘big country’.
A friend of his who had volunteered with us last year told Irian about the Real Junk Food Project Birmingham. Irian wanted to come and help people in Birmingham because it’s something he knows from his home country. In Tahiti people cook for each other and do a lot of charity work and Irian was drawn to our project to feed bellies not bins. Also, his degree requires him to do a 6 week internship and Irian liked the idea of improving his English while feeding and helping people in Birmingham.
Irian has worked at a range of TRJFP Birmingham venues during his internship including:
- Ladywood café – cooking food and making hot drinks
- Kings Heath café – cooking food and supporting the boutique
- Sharehouse – stacking shelves, checking and sorting food
He was shocked at how much food would go to waste if we didn’t intercept it and feels inspired to introduce The Real Junk Food Project to Tahiti.
Irian’s English has improved a lot during his time with us and he enjoyed speaking to all the different people he met through the project and felt that he was able to make a difference to their lives.
People think where he is from is paradise but Tahiti has all the same problems we have including poverty and excessive wealth.
We’d like to thank Irian for his hard work with the project and wish him well for his future studies and travels!
The Real Junk Food Project Birmingham 