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Volunteers on the GroundJack Diverty — Sauble Beach, ON
The links in the chain between a generous donor in Canada and a deserving child receiving a bedkit in Nicaragua are many and varied. The chain must remain strong and unbroken. Distributing 5,000 kits to 5,000 children in ten different sites over ten days incorporating 94 schools is a massive undertaking. The logistics and organization are mind-boggling. This task could not have been successfully completed without the help and co-operation of an army of well-trained and committed volunteers. We were blessed to have such a team, not at only one site, but at all ten sites. They worked tirelessly and cheerfully and treated each child with love, respect, and dignity. There are too many volunteers to name individually, and many laboured outside the main distribution site so were seldom seen; however, without their selfless help, the chain would have broken. First were the members of the Managua Rotary Club. They were our Overseas Volunteer Organization and they did a masterful job of building an organizational plan that really worked effectively. These ladies and gentlemen were passionate about their commitment, cared deeply about their people, and were deeply saddened by the plight of the children. An unexpected bonus was an exciting group of prospective Rotaractors that Linda wrote about. They worked side by side with us at the sites. They had university degrees, were bilingual and were enthusiastic and committed. They wanted to help make Nicaragua better. What's more, they wanted to hang out with we more mature folks. We became more than friends, we became family. Their energy and good spirit was constant and transferable.
An unexpected bonus was the exciting group of On the hottest, stickiest days they picked us up if we were lagging. They made us laugh and we loved them. At each site there was a volunteer co-ordinator who had to recruit, train, and supervise at least fifty people. Each morning when we arrived at the distribution site, someone unknown and unseen to us had already organized the buses, the children, and their parents into orderly, patient groups. As each child was registered on the master list they were escorted into dressing areas where their clothes were sized and they were helped to get dressed by a team of mothers. Although the children were there for only a few minutes, the mothers were there for hours. The rooms became hot as the day wore on, but the mothers never complained and the children always appeared neatly dressed. As children were shepherded through the process they were happily greeted by someone who showed them the way, took their clothing bag, escorted them through the photo session, returned their bag, and then took them to the bedkit reception area where a porter carried their bedkit out for them. On their way out a volunteer handed them some type of refreshment and the child went happily to a grateful adult. The porter’s job was a physically demanding job. In the course of a distribution they each carried about fifty bedkits. By the end of the day they were hot, tired, sweaty, and dirty — but still smiling.
Portering was a job for younger men but at one site there was a gentleman in his 60's who stood out for me as he worked alongside the younger men. At one point he turned to carry the bedkit for another child who turned out to be his grandson. They embraced and after the obligatory picture they went on their way. Grandpa had the bedkit balanced on one shoulder and his other arm around his grandson. It was an unplanned moment and happened strictly by chance. It was a special moment for grandpa, grandson and for me, another grandpa, who just happened to be there. What a moment. Exhilarating and humbling. It encapsulated for me why we were there. A volunteer, a bedkit, and a deserving child. Volunteers came from all walks of life: young and old, rich and poor, male and female, business executives and unemployed, educated and uneducated. All were links in a very long chain. Each link was strong and did not break between the generous Sleeping Children donor and the deserving child in Nicaragua. This was a life-changing moment and I was a part of it in this Year of the Millionth Bedkit. |
