Sleeping Children Around the World

From Kolkata 2008

Little by Little

Irene Harrison — Milton, ON

While India is experiencing record growth rates and unprecedented wealth, it is faced with an incomparable child survival rate. A recent unicef report, published in a Kolkata newspaper during our stay, noted that India occupied the ignominious top spot in the list of countries recording the most child deaths in a year, with one child dying every three seconds: a profound and shocking statistic, but testimony to the child poverty that plagues this vast and highly populated country.

We saw the abject poverty in the crowded city of Kolkata. We witnessed the same as our work took us to the countryside as far as 200 km outside the capital of West Bengal. Our distributions gave us the opportunity to bring the generosity and concern of thousands of Canadian Sleeping Children Around the World [SCAW] donors to 6,500 children. We saw, not only poor children, but many with additional significant challenges – the blind, the deaf and mute, the physically and mentally challenged, and orphans. We experienced many moving and emotional moments and felt truly honoured to be the couriers of so much needed Canadian generosity.

However, our efforts would not have been possible without the extraordinary work of the Indian Rotarians of Dum Dum. Many months of work, planning and organization are necessary to make the SCAW distributions possible. Children need to be identified, bedkit items to be selected, purchased, and assembled, distribution sites chosen, and itinerary planned. Each Rotarian involved in this project had spent countless, selfless hours preparing for this joint venture. They, alongside many volunteers, assisted us with the mechanics of each distribution. With their unflagging enthusiasm, endless labor, and profound concern for the disadvantaged children, we worked to bring a measure of comfort to so many deserving children.

I can still feel the very distinctive and warm handshakes or gestures of “Namaste” of those who wanted to welcome and thank us for our small contribution to their lives. The hospitality that the Rotarians and their wives extended to us made our stay in Kolkata both comfortable and memorable. Snacks and refreshments appeared throughout each distribution day: cool drinks when we were in the blazing sun; coffee and tea to thwart the cold and dampness of sudden, unseasonable monsoons. Late luncheons of wonderful Indian food gave us the opportunity to mingle with the volunteers and form close working relationships. Sightseeing opportunities were arranged during our free time and we gained insight into the spirit and culture of the people of the state of West Bengal. Social occasions allowed us to cement our fellowship in a united cause and develop an important and lasting understanding and appreciation of our different cultures.

Yet, perhaps one might wonder how our combined effort might have any significant impact on the tremendous and indisputable need for assistance for so many children of India. After all, 6,500 bedkits is but a drop in the bucket. There is so much need; so many more children to help.

However, on my very first SCAW distribution in Africa a few years ago, I learned a proverb that has remained with me. I recall and relay it every time someone wonders and asks me if it is reasonable to think, that, in a world that unfortunately harbours such inequity and poverty, our efforts can make a notable difference. The Swahili proverb reminds and encourages us that “little by little, fills the measure.” Every drop in the bucket is vital. Your donations, our volunteers both here and abroad, combine to bring some meaning and truth to that saying, as we collectively can find it in our hearts to add another drop in the bucket.

We can hope that the goals of SCAW will one day help fill that measure. Let us continue the dream of Murray Dryden and make it reality.