Team Reports |
Belgaum, Old and NewDuncan Macgregor — Etobicoke, ON Rotarians in Belgaum have been partnering with Sleeping Children Around the World [SCAW] for three decades as part of the Mumbai Distribution. This year that distribution was divided into three separate distributions and the Belgaum Rotary Club took on the responsibility of looking after the distributions in Hubli, Ranebennur, Kundgol, Bailhongol, and Belgaum. They also added distributions at Chikodi and Athani so the total number of bedkits distributed in the area increased from 3,000 to 4,000.
The SCAW Belgaum travelling team arrived in Mumbai on February 13th. We met up with the SCAW Mumbai team which happened to be staying in the same location. It is unusual for two travelling teams to meet and it was super to hear of their experiences. We then flew south to Kolhapur where we were picked up by our driver and van. After driving to Belgaum, we met our Overseas Volunteer Organization [OVO], members of the Rotary Club of Belgaum, who accompanied us over the next seven days. Our first distribution was in Belgaum and 1,000 bedkits were distributed, the largest number of bedkits in one day during our distribution. Both our travelling team and our Rotary partners under the leadership of Dilip Chitnis acted like a well-oiled machine on that first day. The SCAW team members, who soon received the label "The Seniors Team," finished the day exhausted but happy that 1,000 children would be sleeping more soundly that night.
Our team was pleased to have Gary Comerford, a donor who runs marathons on behalf of SCAW, join our team for the distributions in Ranebennur, Kundgol, and Hubli. Gary was able to experience first hand the joy of a needy child receiving new clothing, school supplies, and a SCAW bedkit. In the reports written by other team members, you will receive a flavour of what we saw and what we felt during our distributions. Seeing, touching, communicating, smiling, and sharing with 4,000 needy Indian children is a blessing that is impossible to describe. Having the opportunity to provide bedkits to hearing-impaired and disabled children pulls even harder at the heart strings. We say a big "Thanks" to all our donors for giving us the opportunity to touch the hearts of 4,000 children, their parents, guardians, and grandparents. We also say a big "Thanks" to our Overseas Partners (listed at left) for touching our hearts with their generous hospitality and their efforts on behalf of Sleeping Children. As SCAW celebrates the "Year of the Millionth Bedkit," we wish to acknowledge the contributions made by the Rotarians in the Karnataka area. They have remained faithful and committed to the SCAW program and to SCAW values. This wonderful partnership and friendship has blossomed and will continue to grow in the years to come as we move toward our second million. |
