 Team Reports |
Thanks for the LabelMarg Goodchild — Orillia, ON
"We can work together for a better world with men and women of goodwill, those who radiate the intrinsic goodness of humankind." — Prof Wangari Maathai I copied this saying at the Nairobi Memorial Park on the former site of the US Embassy building bombed by terrorists in 1998. When I looked at the thousands of labels we placed in front of the kids before taking their picture, I marvelled at how many men and women of goodwill we have donating to SCAW. Your labels helped realize Margaret and Murray Dryden's dream that "all children in the world must have a good night's sleep." Before leaving for Kenya our travelling team met to organize the labels. As we circled the table laden with labels, we became friends instead of total strangers. Friends who had volunteered to deliver your label and a bedkit to alleviate some of the desperate need of children in Kenya. "Go, Jays, Go!" "Thanks for blowing the snow." "Happy 100th birthday!" "Merry Christmas." These were just a few of the greetings that flashed before us: each label representing a bedkit.
After they were organized, we each took approximately 1,100 labels – the 8.5" x 11" sheets of paper — home for safe keeping until our flight. They were one of the most valuable things we took to Kenya: your label to be placed in front of the child receiving your bedkit donation. I put Post-Its around the house to remind me, "Don't forget the labels." The labels travelled with us from the slums of Mathare, to the Westland and Eastland of Nairobi, north to Thika, Nakuru, and Kajabe, and then finally back to Nairobi. Each day Duncan would ask, "Have you got the labels?" They travelled miles to give smiles, so don't forget to read where your label ended up. Though the children didn't notice the labels, many others at the distribution asked question about them which opened doors to explain the mission of SCAW. After each picture the labels were replaced by new ones. We counted them carefully so each child would receive a corresponding bedkit. At the end of each distribution they were given to a teacher at the location to be reused as classroom paper.
Each time we came to a distribution site, we would sing silly songs as an introduction and sometimes Duncan would play his kazoo and sing "Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag, and smile, smile, smile." So, as the children sleep soundly for the first time on their new mattress under the warm blanket and sheet you donated, their troubles may be forgotten for a while and they may dream and smile. On their behalf I say, "Thanks for the label." |
