Meet Diana Dolack: Growing Hope in Biggar
In her first season with Grow Hope Saskatchewan, Diana Dolack is quietly cultivating something meaningful on 80 acres near Biggar. The land she farms has been in her family since the 1920s, passed down through three brothers, including her father. Today, Diana and her brother continue to work the land together, seeding and harvesting side by side, each season a bit simpler than the last.
Diana is a lifelong member of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Biggar, where she serves as organist and treasurer, a role she says she’s had “for only about 35 years.” Redeemer, now part of a joint congregation with the Anglican and formerly Presbyterian churches in town, has long had a tradition of supporting mission projects near and far. Grow Hope Saskatchewan caught Diana’s attention through CLWR and a conversation that started at a booth at the Farm Progress Show in Saskatoon. That conversation, paired with a winning door prize and a nudge of inspiration, opened the door to something new.
“I thought it would be an opportunity to get some publicity for the project and get people in our area involved,” Diana says. “Especially since it sounded like west central wasn’t currently represented.”
This year, Diana is growing wheat. Like many farmers across the province, she seeded early and saw dry conditions through much of May. Thankfully, mid-June brought a good soaking rain and several follow-up showers. While germination wasn’t perfect, the crop is progressing well.
Diana brings a deep awareness of global inequality to her involvement with Grow Hope. She speaks openly about how easily Canadians can lose sight of the privilege of peace, security, and opportunity. A trip to western Ukraine in 2013 left a lasting impression. Standing beside a quiet riverbank in Lutsk, where a mass grave now lies beneath the earth, Diana witnessed how recent and raw history can be in parts of the world where conflict has been all too common.
“As Canadians who have never lived in a war-torn country or had invaders overrun our towns, or shoot our people, we have no concept of what many people in the world live through every day,” she reflects. “We take peace and security for granted.”
For Diana, generosity is not about recognition but about quiet faithfulness.
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”
James 2:14–17
Diana doesn’t expect to stay in the spotlight. In fact, she’d rather stay behind the scenes. But in making her land available for Grow Hope, she hopes to encourage others in her community to learn more and get involved. “Rather than sending cash to CLWR, this is just another way to get funds to them,” she says. “I hope the Foodgrains Bank has lots of ideas to make the most of this, like putty on the potter’s wheel. Help me make a pot.”
For Diana, growing hope is about more than a season of wheat. It’s about offering up what’s been given and trusting that it will be used for good.