Finding his stride in South Huron: Richard Rola starts a new life for himself and his family in Canada
By Mark Nonkes
They call it the Dashwood Run Club. In truth, it is just Richard Rola and a friend jogging alongside the road, watching the sun set over the fields and pushing themselves further distances.
“It’s my hobby. We try to go three times a week. It’s good if we can go 16 kilometers.. We’re still trying to convince others to join us,” laughed the 38-year-old Richard Rola.
Keeping up though, might be a challenge. Rola just finished a half-marathon. His goal, by the fall, is to complete a full 42-kilometre marathon.
Rola moved to Canada from the Philippines in 2020, just as the pandemic started. He is employed by Hayter’s Farm where he is a machine operator, ensuring food is processed to the highest health standards.
Lindsay Hayter, Director of People and Operations of Hayter’s Farm, remembers his hiring process well.
“I got to interview Richard when he was in the Philippines, and then he came over during COVID, which was not an easy time to try to integrate to the community, but he's such a cheerful, engaging guy that we were able to get him set up and working for success very quickly,” said Lindsay.
Rola, who worked in the food industry as an area manager in the Philippines, was excited to restart his life in Canada.
“I had a dream of going to Canada. So when I learned that there was a chance of going, I was so very happy and grateful for that,” Rola said.
After settling in Canada, Rola was able to reunite with his wife and son.
“After they came, I was relieved, I was happy and able to feel like my whole self. I felt really happy,” Rola remembered.
Rola said he’s been impressed by the village he lives in.
“Our street is a very nice place for me. It’s very peaceful. People here are very kind and supportive. They are very friendly and it's such a nice place to live,” Rola said.
Beyond work and fitness, Rola is an avid photographer. In February 2026, he also opened a side-business, called Dashwood Snap Booth, doing pop-up photo booths at weddings and events.
“It’s going well,” he reported. “There’s lots of bookings already.”
Richard is among a growing number of agri-food workers employed in Huron County’s agricultural industry. In 2024, the most recent year for which data is available , 555 permits were issued for Huron County employers in agri-food sectors to bring people to Canada on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). The largest number of those positions were issued in the Municipality of South Huron.
“We need to welcome international workers because we need team members to do these challenging jobs,” Hayter said. “Employers have struggled for decades in our area to find employees who are able and willing to do these physically taxing jobs. Without them, we cannot be successful, we cannot grow and support this community.”
“They get the job done, plain and simple. We would not have the agricultural sector we have today without international agri-food workers. I’ve seen that firsthand over decades working alongside them. They’ve been a huge part of this community and continue to play a really important role,” added Jim Deitrich, a local council member who has worked with international agri-food workers for decades in South Huron.
It’s with this population in mind that the Municipality of South Huron started a two-year project aimed at strengthening the experiences of international agri-food workers.
The project began by surveying international agri-food workers to better understand their experiences in the community. Through the survey, the municipality and its partners learned that many of the international staff worked more than 40 hours a week in the agri-food sector and that most people were in roles that matched their professional skills and experience acquired before they moved to Canada.
The survey showed that most of the international agri-food workforce is in Canada without any immediate family and that isolation and loneliness is common. Further, the survey detailed that places of worship and health care centres were the most frequently used community spaces. In terms of challenges, international agri-food workers most frequently reported experiencing difficulties around accessing transportation and finding information about how to stay in Canada as a permanent resident.
“It was really the first time we had an opportunity to connect directly with international agri-food workers and ask about their experiences in South Huron,” reported Stacey Jeffery, Community Relations Manager for the Municipality of South Huron. “We knew they were an important part of our community and workforce, but we wanted to hear from them about what life was actually like; what was going well, what challenges they were facing and what would help them feel more connected and supported. The survey gave us a much clearer picture of their experiences and helped guide the work that followed.”
After the survey was completed, the results were presented to community partners and employers. During that meeting, people brainstormed ideas to address some of the challenges the survey presented.
To address social isolation, community events to bring international agri-food workers, service providers, and the community together were planned. A community picnic in Dashwood was held in September 2025 and a soccer tournament was held in Exeter to coincide with the World Cup finals last month.
“One of my strongest memories from our community picnic in Dashwood was seeing a soccer game break out between people who had been complete strangers just a few hours earlier. It was a simple moment, but it really showed how quickly a sense of community can grow when people are given the chance to connect,” Jeffery said.
The project is also developing a framework to help organizations strengthen programs and services for international agri-food workers through improved design that prioritizes culturally appropriate delivery. A cornerstone of the framework is recognizing the limitations around transportation.
Workshops with an immigration consultant have also been held in Dashwood, with 71 people attending sessions where information was detailed about criteria required to remain in Canada.
“We can’t simply look at people who are here on a temporary basis as staying for a short term. Many people come back year after year, others build their lives and eventually become Canadian citizens here. They contribute in many ways that enrich everyone’s lives,” said Phil Maier, co-chair of Huron County’s Immigration Partnership. “We can share our support and show we’re welcoming, creating an environment that recognizes everyone’s value and contributions.”
Finally, to foster better understanding around the contributions that international agri-food workers offer the community, a series of videos are being shot and will be rolled out later in 2026.
“These videos are really about helping people get to know the individuals behind the jobs,” says Jeffery. “International agri-food workers are an integral part of our community, and we are so lucky to have them here. We hope that by sharing their stories, people will come away with a greater appreciation for the contributions they make and feel more connected to their neighbours.”
Jeffery has led the Strengthening the Agri-food Sector in South Huron through the International Agri-food Worker Integration project.
The project is in partnership with the Huron Immigration Partnership and is funded in part by the Governments of Canada and Ontario under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a five-year, federal-provincial-territorial initiative.
In short, the project aims to build on experiences like Richard’s at Hayter’s, where a cultural exchange is embedded in the relationship between Canadian staff and international workers.
“If there is an event at our place, we make sure we invite everyone and then show people and let them taste our food, our cuisine. And, of course, we have karaoke, you have to do karaoke if you’re at a Filipino party, so we let them try it. And they love it and we do too,” Rola remarked.
“Everybody deserves to benefit from the gifts people who are new to our community bring, whether it be through sport, volunteer hours, or countless other things within the community. Our team members are so incredible. They are so kind, humble and hard working. Everyone deserves to have that relationship,” Lindsay Hayter added.
The Dashwood Run Club may still consist of just two runners, but for Rola, every kilometre is another step toward a future he once only dreamed about.◊