REGINA — A re-shingling project outside a Regina home on Tuesday is helping support a family through their hard times.
Last August, Regina resident Janson Gunderson found out he had stage four esophageal cancer.
“It ultimately just flipped our world upside down,” he said.
A few months earlier, the Gundersons had planned to start redoing the roof of the home they’d moved into roughly 17 years ago.
With Janson diagnosed, uncertainty grew for their roof-repair plans.
“Janson had just gone off to work. And so it's hard to make big financial decisions like that when you're supposed to be being put off work, and you have no idea how long,” said Janson's wife, Sharon Gunderson.
The family opted to seek one additional quote for the roof from Wheatland Roofing.
“The guy said he was gonna be in his truck for a bit and would just do the quote and stuff for us. And then he came and knocked on the door, and he told us about this program," said Sharon.
This program is a collaboration between Wheatland Roofing and Regina Trades & Skills Centre (RTSC).
“[We] typically partner up once a year, find a deserving non-profit family in need [of repairs], and do that project,” said Kris Wall, instructor of the residential roofing class for the RTSC.
When the worker informed Sharon and Janson they had been selected, they were left speechless.
“After we stopped crying, we just stood there in disbelief; we just couldn't stop saying thank you because it was just such a huge burden lifted.”
Ambition to help others:
Several students of the RTSC residential roofing class helped remove the old shingles from the Gunderson’s home, including Prasad Parmar.
Parmar is new to the construction industry, but has big plans once he completes his class.
“My goal is to get through all the skills which are required in construction, which can help me later on build a company who construct whole houses.”
Through his planned company, Parmar aims to support people facing financial hardship who cannot afford a roof over their heads.
As a newcomer, Parmar said his eyes have been opened about how not everyone in Canada has a good life.
“I’ve come to know that there are people in Canada also who cannot afford such kind of things.”
Janson said seeing people willing to step up and support him keeps him going.
“It's hard to wrap your head around the number of people that have stepped up, between in a circle of friends and family and just companies. It’s surreal.”
For his cancer battle, Janson will continue chemo every two weeks as he makes slow progress.
As for their home, the Gundersons hope to stay for a long time.
“We've had a lot of firsts here. We first came here after we got married. We first came here after our daughter was born. We've had a lot of firsts here, and yeah, it's great,"said Sharon.
