Shovels, Hoes, Mudbricks and a Chicken Pen…

By: Bijal Solanki, Senior Account Executive, Salesforce

Driving out to my first North West Disability Services (NWDS) Foundation Day the thought going through my mind was that being surrounded by greenery and fresh air would be an ideal way to spend a day and take a break from the constant challenge of monthly targets and closing deals. I mean after all how much of a challenge could this day be? I’ll cut some grass, paint some fences and may even score feeding an animal or two. This all changed as soon as I parked the car!

What lay ahead of me was a vast green paddock with one small office and my fellow Salesforce colleagues probably all wondering the same thing I was – this was definitely not on the brochure! As we gathered around we were introduced to the team from NWDS and the other full time volunteers who were also dedicating their time and energies to the cause. Debbie, the CEO of NWDS, outlined the plans for what they were looking to do; build an admin building, create an animal pen, refurbish all buildings as well as making mud bricks from scratch!

Surely we would have machinery or equipment to move all the sand and grass and diggers to make the required hole in the ground? What no? The shovels, hoes, rakes and wheelbarrows are in that room over there? And so my journey began…and my sense of purpose that what we were all about to do, would make a difference to a whole lot of people who would call this place home in the near future.

Words are hard to describe what happened over the next 5 visits over 12 months to NWDS, but what started off as a cow paddock that stretched over a hundred meters, slowing starting taking shape as building after building started being erected, paths being laid from tiles donated by local developers who deemed them surplus to requirements and freshly painted walls and sheds that looked like they would be better off being demolished. However my personal pride and joy is my beloved chicken pen, that we finally finished on my visit in December. A patch or grass that started off life with nothing other than to be dumping ground for rubbish became a gleaming new play pen for my chook friends complete with wire fencing and gates. I can say with pride that I helped build that!

Looking forward to what we are going to build in 2015 and help this awesome charity.