Some of the best moments in your life have no photo. This was the case when I was handed a hand saw and told to cut down a piece of wood at the top of this shade structure. It was one of the scariest moments of my life to that point. You wouldn’t believe what happened. Although that moment was photo-less, I’m glad we got a before and after of the sun shade structure we built; Ekram and I (and for a few hours a team of 3-4 high school students).

This was the first structure I had ever built by hand, EVER. Raised in the city by a single mom, I think a screwdriver was the extent of my tool knowledge until recently living on my own. However, even the most intricate power tool I keep around the house is no comparison to even a basic construction tool. As much as volunteering should never be about what’s in it for you, this day that I was expecting to be raking and gardening most of the time, turned into a construction learning experience.

It all started when Bianca, the lead for the Seed to Preschool Neighborhood Farm, asked Ekram and I to build a shade structure to help protect the good usable wood for the garden. I was scared out of my mind and her explanation of what she was imagining being built was like French to me. Luckily, Ekram had construction experience and in addition to becoming our unofficial Project Manager, will also live as an unofficial father figure in my mind for the 4  hours we shared together.

To read how this amazing stranger positively affected my life, see more photos of the structure, or simply to help San Diego North County Community Services Seed to Preschool program, make your donation below to support.

About the Organization: The Seed to Preschool service of San Diego North County Community Services provides an active garden for preschoolers in the North San Diego area. The garden is used, not only for education in the horticulture field but also as nutrition and food for a community of youth that lives at or below poverty. They do not have access to highly priced organic foods and all of the food grown in the garden is used for school lunches. Nutrition education is taught in hopes to form healthy habits in an area that could be considered a “food desert”.

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