Making a DifferenceClive Dunstan — Mississauga, ON
As a long time music teacher, I hoped I was giving my students something to make life a little happier and a little more rewarding. The one sentiment I considered the highest compliment was that I had made a difference in their lives. Now in retirement, my chance to travel to Bangladesh and work with Sleeping Children carries on the same hope: that I can contribute a little something to the lives of thousands of poor unfortunate children. With all of the millions of poverty-stricken people throughout this world, you may wonder: why bother, and where do you even begin?. It reminds me of the story of two friends walking on the beach. One was frantically picking up starfish that had been washed ashore and throwing them back into the sea. The other friend said, “Why are you wasting your time, there are thousands of them, you can’t possibly get them all?” The first man threw another starfish into the sea and replied, “Well I made a difference to that one." After one of the distributions, a large crowd of children, parents, and friends gathered round me to stare and wonder who this strange creature from another world was. I began to sing the chorus from “O Canada,” and they all listened in amazement with smiles on their faces. Suddenly a little girl came forward through the crowd and began to sing the Bangladesh national anthem. Everyone was astonished and when she had finished they cheered and clapped. I held her hand and gave her the beautiful flowers I had received. She was so proud and happy and so was I for her. I know she will remember this day for the rest of her life.
Jesus said,"What you do unto the least of these, you do unto me." In the past few weeks I have seen "the least of these" over and over and know this wonderful charity is continuing the work that Murray Dryden, the founder, initiated. Caring is when an act of love and kindness takes place without any thought of reward or recognition. I know now I am making a difference and so are you. You the donors, the Rotary and Lions Club members in Dhaka, the many volunteers at home in the Sleeping Children headquarters, my dedicated team members on this distribution: all can be assured that their caring has brought happiness to seven-thousand-five-hundred wanting children in Bangladesh in just three weeks. When I stood amongst the parents and guardians of these children and saw the pride in their eyes, I couldn’t help but reflect on the fact that we all live in the same world, and under the same sky, and we have the same emotions about our children and grandchildren. Yet life has not been fair to everyone. Our children grow up in lovely houses, have an abundance of healthy food, a reasonable wardrobe of fashionable clothes, and educational opportunities. These children, no less deserving, struggle to exist, yet are also warm and beautiful human beings who just happen to have been born under different circumstances in this underprivileged part of the world. I feel I want to hug them as I do my own grandchildren and show them that others do care. However you can only make them happy for a few brief moments as you shake their hand and present them with a bedkit and say “Tomar jonno,” “It’s yours to keep.”
Samuel Coleridge says that a heart that gives is one that receives many times over. I feel blessed that I have had an opportunity to personally experience the smiles and the gentleness of these poor unfortunate children and will remember for the rest of my life how deeply moved I have felt. I marvel at how happy they can seem with so little and I feel remorse that we have so much in Canada and are never satisfied. I know in their own way they are saying thank you to you for this wonderful gift of cosy pajamas, a soft pillow, a warm blanket, colourful clean sheets, a firm mattress, a mosquito net and other needed items that enable them to sleep peacefully and comfortably throughout the night. Thank you, Sleeping Children; thank you forever, Margaret and Murray Dryden; and thank you, donors. May this charity have your support many times over. Good night. |
