Team Reports
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With a little help from our friends!Harry Gauthier – Barrie, ON
Once it has been decided that we are distributing bedkits in this beautiful country, the work begins for the Rotarians. They get three different quotes for the bedkit items. They must ensure the quality of the items and present this information to the Sleeping Children office in Toronto. Upon approval, money is wired down to allow them to start producing the bedkits. Bedkit items are purchased locally, supplying employment for local people. So your thirty-dollar donation helps the local economy too — a win/win situation. They follow SCAW guidelines to select bedkit recipients in conjunction with the principal and teachers at the distribution site schools. Then they assemble bedkits and send the right number to each site — all before we arrive in Honduras.
When we got there, the Rotarians greeted us at the airport and drove us to our hotel. We met together for a brief description of the distribution sites, got to know each other, and planned the upcoming days’ work. They had arranged transportation and translators for us. At the distribution sites they assisted us with setting up and giving out the bedkits. We also received help from the Rotaract Club (young Rotarians) and from members of Francisco’s work. At the weekly Rotary Wednesday night meeting we were presented with a certificate thanking us for our cooperation in this useful joint project. We had an excellent dinner, and Laurie-Beth had the opportunity to address the Rotary Club and thank them for all their help and the joy of working with them.
It didn’t finish there. Rotarians also provided us with some social activities. We were invited out to dinner at the house of the President of the Rotary Club the night of our first distribution. We were also taken out to a local restaurant the night before we left. In appreciation and recognition of all the hard work done by Carlos, the person assigned to the SCAW project, and Pablo, our driver, we invited them for dinner at La Cumbre, a restaurant perched high on the mountainside overlooking Tegucigalpa. Thank you so very much to the Rotary Club of Tegucigalpa for helping us and for putting a smile on 4,500 children in your country. |
After another successful distribution in Honduras and 4,500 smiling faces
I would like to thank our OVO (Overseas Volunteer Organization) in Honduras,
the Rotary Club of Tegucigalpa, for all they do for us before and during our
visit. Without their help bedkit distributions would not be possible.
