Justice and Peace

Story: Pye Bank School Entry 2 ESOL class

Dave Havard lives and works in New Roots in Burngreave. He and other staff welcome many different people in the café and help them with many things. Dave visited our class and we asked him questions about his life and work in Burngreave.

He was born and grew up in Chelmsford, near London. He has 3 grown-up children and now lives with his second wife, Arwa.

He has travelled a lot and had different jobs. He first studied to be an electrician. After that he worked in a theatre. In 1985 he became a Christian and trained to be a Deacon in the Church of England.

He wanted to work to help people in the community. He said,

“I feel that my work in the Church is about justice and peace.”

He moved to Canada and lived there for 14 years to work with disabled people. He came to Sheffield in 2002. Now he is working as a volunteer at New Roots and he is also a midday supervisor (or dinner lady) at Firs Hill School.

New Roots started in 2000 and has been

“a place where people can come together from different cultures and religions,”

Dave explained.

All the food they sell is Fair Trade, so that it helps the people who grow it. They are also involved in other activities in the community and campaigning to help local people to keep their shops and jobs.

Dave has visited many countries, including Palestine where he met Arwa. We were very interested to hear about his experiences. He went there in 2007 as a Peacekeeper because he wanted to help the people suffering because of the Israeli occupation. He told us,

“life is very difficult for Palestinians living in Hebron because Israeli settlers have moved into their town and soldiers are there to protect the settlers. They stop Palestinians living a normal life and often attack people in the streets.”

Dave himself was beaten four times while he was helping the Palestinians. Dave feels himself at home among the many different cultures in Burngreave. He said, “I love to travel, but living in Burngreave I don’t have to – the world comes to me”. His life is guided by his strong faith and the desire to help people get justice and improve their lives.