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It’s a Small WorldKatharine Watt — Listowel, ON Volunteerism has always been a priority in my life and so, having retired from teaching and wanting to travel, it seemed fitting that I should sign on with Sleeping Children Around the World. Of course, my maiden name being Dryden also influenced my decision to join SCAW. As a “newbie” to India, I expected to find a different way of life, but, while life in India is different, it’s also the same as life in Canada. At one distribution site in a private school, I read the following message: “Are we doing enough to nurture creativity and encourage our children to think out of the box? Sonar Bangla, Kolkata, 18th March 2006.” It was as if I had been struck between the eyes. I thought back to the numerous hours my colleagues and I had spent pondering the same question. Yes, teachers around the world are concerned about creating independent thinkers. In one classroom, the teacher had neatly prepared a lesson on the blackboard on counting to 100, numerically and in words. In another classroom, the students were calculating 4% sales tax on merchandise. Typical math lessons. Finishing early at one distribution site, we took a trip to a beautiful Jaine temple. I was struck not only with the beauty of this place, but also with the natural curiosity of the children who were enjoying the grounds. We were approached by many wanting to shake our hands, saying, “Hello, Madam,” and “Photo, please?” or wanting to know where we lived. White people are the cause of much head turning in India. All children are naturally curious when someone new appears. By contrast, we met many children who exhibited fear when meeting we white-skinned strangers, preferring to hide behind other children or adults. However, with perseverance and patience on our part, many children would shake our hands. In a world where these little ones have nothing and no hope for anything, it is no wonder they are fearful of something new. How they clung to their new backpacks, which contained all their possessions, hesitant to release their hold for a photo. On our second day of distribution, our heartstrings were tugged, and our emotions were heightened. Here, we met over 100 blind and deaf mute students. They showed no fear as they held on to each other, trusting the sighted person in the lead to take them to safety. Perhaps if we all trusted each other a little more, our world would be a more peaceful place. How fortunate it was that I had taken a duck puppet, a kazoo, and a digital camera. What excitement, what smiles, what sparkling eyes when the children could see their picture as soon as it was taken. It was magic. Children all over the world enjoy the magical aspect. They were thrilled with the puppet and how it worked. With shouts of “Me, Auntie, me,” they held out their hand to try quacking and working the puppet. What joy in their faces as they learned “high fives.” So it is with children in Canada. An interesting sight for me on this trip was the number of parents who tried every trick in the book to get inside the gates to be with their children. Heads appeared over top of the walls as they tried to get a peek. Concerned faces peered at us through gates in an attempt to follow the process of getting a bedkit. Could we be trusted with their children? They had already walked miles, ridden in the back of a crowded truck full of other parents and children, or biked in the rain to get the best for their children — and more than they had ever had or perhaps could ever get. The parents displayed universal signs of caring. They were excited and curious to see the bedkit. They were protective as they managed to get inside the gate, searching for the child they hadn’t seen for a number of hours. What was taking so long? There was hope on the faces of those parents who had stood outside the gates all day, even after the last child had gone, hoping there might be extra bedkits left over. In thirty-five years of teaching, I am certain I never received a gift as precious as the gratitude displayed by many of the children upon receiving the bedkit as they prepared to exit the distribution site. That gift was the ritual of “namaste,” combined with the kneeling and touching my feet. I was moved to tears. Yes, we are all the same, yet we have different life circumstances. We are all in this world together, as we try to make a better life. We need to remember the words to the popular children’s song: There is just one moon, and one golden sun, |
