 Team Reports |
Changes in Mumbai
Doug Cunningham — Cobourg, ON I have been coming to Mumbai as part of the Sleeping Children Around the World [SCAW] team for the last three years. Changes have been made to the Mumbai distribution. Pune, and Belgaum had always been part of this distribution but it required travelling volunteers to be available for almost a month because of long trips by car or plane to cover the whole distribution area. This year we have three separate distributions: Mumbai, Pune, and Belgaum. We will be concentrating on Mumbai, handing out 4,000 bedkits to children here and taking pictures that we will to send to all you wonderful donors. 4,000 will also be delivered in Belgaum. 3,000 are scheduled for Pune, where SCAW’s founder, Murray Dryden handed out our first bedkit almost forty years ago. Also exciting for Sleeping Children is that 2009 is the Year of the Millionth Bedkit. I know some long-time and frequent donors to SCAW have heard us talk of our joy and happiness at our involvement with these children, but believe me, every distribution is an experience unto itself. I have had the experience of not only watching the expressions of joy on the faces of the children as they receive their gift but also seeing the amazement on the faces of new team members. As team leader of this group of six volunteers, I see the team develop. I witness new people on the team do their thing for the first time, whether it’s lining up the kids, sitting them down, watching as I try to get them to smile, or the ultimate, getting to see the happy expressions on their faces as they receive their bedkit.
On the trips back to our lodgings or to the next distribution point I’ve enjoyed hearing the exclamations of the first time volunteers: “Did you see the beautiful smile on the girl that had to be carried?” “Did you know that this or that child was partially or completely blind?” “It was fun getting the attention of the children with the hearing aids.” “Did you see this note of gratitude I got from one of the children?” It is amazing that Rotary sponsors these schools and arranges for the children to get hearing aids. It still amazes me, after having been on many distributions, that what I see that astounds me.
It also inspires me to keep wanting to come back. If you have ever thought that you would be interested in being a part of an experience like this I encourage you to follow your instincts and take the steps to enlighten yourself to what would be involved. It is reassuring to a team leader to hear the team members talking of how, or when, they will be able to make their next trip. |
