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Land of ContrastsJean Hutton – St. Marys, ON
The sights and sounds of India are beautiful and exotic—from the tropical coffee plantations and majestic peaceful hills surrounding Yercaud to the graceful silk saris and the always present fragrance of aromatic incense and spices. India is considered one of the leading world powers because of its automotive industry and internet technology. However, with its teeming population of 1.2 billion people, India has millions of people living in poverty. The government does provide some help to these families, such as providing the children with 3 hard-boiled eggs per week, and it has begun a program to provide a free TV in many homes for educational purposes. However the sheer numbers of those living in poverty overwhelm the ability of the government to provide any social assistance programs. Therefore India qualifies for three SCAW distributions per year and the Rotary Clubs have perfected their role of overseas service coordinators.
Our team of traveling volunteers visited the rural villages and factory towns in the Chennai area of South India to help distribute 6,000 bedkits. In the villages that we visited we saw small stick or cement homes covered with thatched roofs and open fires for cooking as well as raw sewage running through the ditches. Just as common a sight was the evidence of shared community responsibility and camaraderie in caring for their children and each other in their daily struggles. The children that we saw in the villages and at the distributions reflect their conditions. Their bodies are small due to poor nutrition, their clothing was old but clean, and their feet were bare, but their eyes sparkled as these children were excited. The arrival of the SCAW team and the bedkits was a highlight in their lives. We followed a bedkit home and saw how the child would sleep on the mattress and pillow. Not just one child but probably three sleeping horizontally across the bed. The blanket is necessary as the nights are cool, and the school supplies provided are highly valued. The mosquito net will also help prevent malaria, which can be fatal to small children. The bedkit with its 21 articles is the largest gift that these children may ever receive. It will not change their present life from poverty but it will make their life easier knowing that someone in Canada cares about them. Multiply this by 6,000 bedkits distributed and their world, as well as our world, become kinder places. |
